


takes one to know one

by The_Cursed_Blade



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Hurt/Comfort, Manipulation, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Suicidal Thoughts, and deviate from canon eventually, starting out on a very canon rewrite with small changes, will add more tags as I go because I'm making this up on the fly at this point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:27:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 33,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28818510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Cursed_Blade/pseuds/The_Cursed_Blade
Summary: Betrayal and power are all that Technoblade knows. After he tried to convince friends that the way that things had gone in L'manberg was a case against a new government, no one listened. At least no one that needed to listened. Revenge begets revenge and a vengeful god is that last person that you want to have that escalating fight with. But that's what they've chosen and it's not even their worst choice.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), No Romantic Relationship(s), Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Technoblade & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 54





	1. Chapter 1

As far as Technoblade was concerned, there were two kinds of people in the world:

  * Those that wanted to use him.
  * Those that wanted to destroy him.



And those reasons were the only two things in the world that he could trust. Anyone that insisted that they were neutral would inevitably fall into one of those two groups.

But as far as Techno was concerned, it didn't matter what side people fell on. As long as he knew what they were there for, he could work with that. He could get rid of those that wanted to kill him and use the people that wanted to use him until their causes were no longer matching. There were few exceptions to the way that Techno looked at the world. One of them was Philza. And really Phil was the only friend in the world that mattered to Techno. They had done much together. Created empires, taken down mighty enemies, fought together for years, and Phil was the only person that he trusted wouldn't try to stab his back.

And today, Phil was sitting at Techno's table, a cup of water in his hands. The idea of tea hadn't appealed to him, but Techno had a cup of tea on his side of the table. The two were sitting in silence at the moment, but they had just been sharing jokes and laughing together, a nice moment in the quiet life that Techno had put together out in the arctic tundra away from everything that had happened before. While Phil still lived in L'manberg most of the time, the two of them were always happy to get together and enjoy the time that they had. But it was in that silence that Techno heard something.

He had always been listening to the snowy landscape, thinking that someone or something might come for the peaceful life that he cobbled together out here. And it was peaceful. Even if he was still carrying weapons, he was carrying them only for protection from unknown elements that were out there. And it was when he heard the sound of a soft voice on the wind that he froze.

"Techno... They're coming."

Techno looked up like he expected to see a masked person there, but no it was just the whisper of a thought in his head. And so he walked to the windows, opening them up to lean out and look in the direction that L'manburg lay. And for a second, he saw nothing.

"What's up, mate?" Phil said, standing from his place at the table.

"Where's the compass, Phil?" Techno was still looking outside. "The one that I gave you that could lead you here?"

Phil patted his pockets and then froze. "I'd been here often enough that I came without today, but it's always been tucked away somewhere safe-"

"You need to go Phil. If they catch you out here, you'll only get in more trouble." Techno spun around and picked up both of their cups, putting them in the sink with other unwashed dishes, making it harder to tell that Phil had been there at all.

Phil was silent for a moment, looking at Techno pace around the room, pulling out potion bottles and starting to fill them with different ingredients, the instincts of wars still sharp in his mind and his hands. "Be safe, Techno."

"I always am. They're not going to get away with this." Techno looked back at Phil and then pulled down the pig mask over his face. The chains rattled together along his outfit. Phil stepped to one of the windows facing away from L'manberg and opened it wide. And then he jumped out of it, wings unfurling from his back as he went. He stayed low, flying over the hills and away, taking the long route back and around to L'manberg. If they asked, he would have been out and about, looking for materials for something he wanted to build.

Techno walked to the window and closed it once he saw Phil flying away and then he returned to his work, putting everything together. Phil could handle himself.

Techno kept peering out the windows, looking for them anywhere along the horizon and he couldn't catch sight of any of them there. Techno pulled out one of his weapons, twirling it in his hands, like a nervous tic, a reminder that his body was going to move the way that he wanted it to when he needed it to. And then as the potions began to blow, he stowed them along his belt, the contents shimmering. He caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror and he cringed a little internally.

Fighting was something he had wanted to set behind. But seeing him in the gear of wars past with tools and weapons made something go wild in his head. Voices sprung to life, demanding the blood of those that were coming for him, but Techno swallowed it inside of himself and then he focused on making sure that he was ready. And then he saw something outside. It wasn't a person, but the shape of one.

"Ghostbur..." Techno groaned. The ghost of Wilbur Soot was another person that defied the two categories that he had set before. The ghost couldn't remember the things he had done in the past; he didn't have a motive to do anything. Most of the time, it was harmless, but when Techno looked past the ghost and the sheep that he seemed to be guiding around, he saw the armored forms of other people, gathered together, just out of sight. He grit his teeth and then walked out to the entrance of his home and opened the door.

"Ghostbur what are you doing here?" Techno grumbled.

"Oh hi, Techno! I was coming out to show you my new friend, but then I ran into them and they said they were looking for you. They even had a compass that was pointing at your home. So I helped them!"

Techno rubbed his face under the mask. "You helped them get here?"

"Yes!" The ghost was floating, bobbing, and happy.

"Ghostbur, they're not here to do anything good. Please just take your new sheep friend and get away from the house."

Ghostbur looked down at the ground, then up at Techno, frowning. "Did I make a mistake?"

"Yes, Ghostbur. You did. But you can help me now by going over to the other side of the hill and getting out of here for a little bit."

Ghostbur perked up and started floating away with the lead for the sheep in his hand. Techno made eye contact with the sheep and he swore that for a second, the sheep rolled its eyes at the situation. Techno blinked and then he looked out at the people that were lingering just in the woods. They could see him looking at him and it was when he stared at them that they came forward out of the trees. Techno sparred only one last glance to the side to see where Ghostbur had wandered off to, but he was out of sight, which meant that he could be out of mind.

Four figures strolled across the snowy field and made their way to the entrance of his house.

"And to what do I owe the misfortune of your visit?" Techno asked, his hand gripping his sword tightly.

Of the four figures, the shortest one stumbled forward. "We are here to arrest you in the name of L'manberg." His voice wavered a little bit, but his eyes were set. The president of L'manberg was standing in front of him. Tubbo, the kid that they had picked to start a second government in L'manberg after he had helped save them from the rule of the last government.

Techno didn't respond right away, instead glancing at the rest of the group. Fundy, Quackity, and Ranboo. He wasn't certain what to make of the group, but he kept a tight grip on the blade in his hand. "For what? I'm a retired man now, just living out here peacefully in the artic. Have you seen my bees over there? Got a whole rig built to make sure that they're safe and warm out here so I can have honey."

"For what?" Tubbo sputtered. "You helped destroy us. You let loose withers on us! You tried to kill us."

"That's the past, Tubbo," Techno said, "I'm a changed man, content to be living alone out here."

"You're carrying weapons right now," Quackity pointed out.

"Four unexpected people coming to a home that I had put far away from L'manberg? Wouldn't you put on your armor, too?"

"It doesn't matter that you're retired now, you need to come with us and stand trial for what you've done to our country."

Techno didn't move. And the four of them inched forward, their weapons were out and they looked ready to spring. But Techno was still hoping that he could get out of this. "I've paid for what I've done. You can either peacefully come over and look at my bees or you can leave."

The four of them leaned forward, weapons drawn and ready. Techno walked past them, putting his sword away as he walked to the glass enclosure that housed his bees. He did love this thing. He was surprised about how well it had gone building it with Phil. He looked at it carefully for a moment, the others walking over with him. They were too on edge. They weren't going to let him go. This was about to be a fight.

And the voices were fucking thrilled. Techno closed his eyes, didn't let his hand drift to the hilt of the sword like he wanted. He kept his hands at his side, hidden under the cloak that he was wearing.

"I'm sorry Techno, but you really have to come with us," Tubbo said. "If you don't, things will get ugly."

Techno opened his eyes with a sigh. "I really did do my best to put the past behind me. I gave up violence, made my peaceful way out here. The voices, oh they still demanded blood, but did I listen to them? No. I didn't. But today, if this is the choice I am given, then I guess I'll have to choose blood again." Techno swirled the cape out of the way, pulling out the sword and releasing the potions he had just made. A plume of multi-colored smoke covered him and then he dashed out of it, rushing forward, aiming for Tubbo first.

The four of them had been ready for this, but they hadn't been ready for how quickly he would take this to the extreme. Techno felt his blade hit flesh and the cry of joy in his head made him pull back his lip into a feral snarl. "THIS IS WHAT I DIDN'T WANT, TUBBO." He shouted as he pulled the blade away. And then he was moving onto the next target, the closest person, Fundy with his half-fox features was baring his teeth, anger boiling through him. And Techno spun his way into slashing Fundy across the chest. The entire time, anyone else that was nearby was peppering Techno with hits, but there was only so much that their weapons could do against his armor and the potions that he had used on himself.

Quackity, in the chaos, had run to the side of Techno's house to the prized horse that was sitting there. He slammed his sword into the wood of the fence. Then he grabbed the horse and brought it back out.

"HEY TECHNO." Quackity pointed the tip of his sword at the horse. And when Techno paused to look back, Quackity pressed the tip to Carl's neck. "If you don't come with us. This horse is going to get it."

Techno was completely still. He stared at Quackity and then at Carl. That horse had been the only other companion that had had out here in the wilderness. And he wouldn't let these fools take that friend from him now. So he lowered his sword, the blade dripping with blood.

"That's what I thought, now drop your armor and your weapons, all of them."

Techno paused, staring at Quackity, and then he looked back at the other three. They were bleeding quite badly and he trusted that they wouldn't be a problem, but Quackity could kill Carl before he had a chance to stop him. He threw his sword on the ground and then started stripping off the armor and other weapons he had on him. None of them stepped forward to pat him down, but they picked up his things, putting them in the saddlebags that were on Carl. Techno stood there in the cold, wearing just his clothes and his red cloak. Blood splatters were on the cloak already drying, staining the fabric.

"Good, now let's head back to L'manberg for your trial," Tubbo said, looking carefully at Quackity and then Fundy. Ranboo hung off to the side and then the five of them moved through the forest, walking the long way back to L'manberg. Techno was silent. These were the consequences of his actions. He would let this trial stand. And if it went wrong... He didn't let them see him feel the inside of his cloak, but he felt the pocket of his cloak, feeling the totem that was in his pocket. He had a backup plan.

When they got into L'manberg, they took him to a platform in the center of town that had obviously been put together just for this occasion. Techno was marched up into the cell on the stage where he wouldn't be able to get out until they decided he could.

The four people that had brought him here were standing below. And he saw the glint of bloodlust in their eyes. He had figured that this wasn't going to be an easy fight.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before we begin, just wanted to give a heads up that there's a brief mention of suicidal ideation.

"We weren't telling the whole truth, Techno," Quackity said, "This isn't your trial. This is your execution. Look up above you." Techno did and he could see the mechanism that was holding an anvil directly above him, high enough in the air to be fatal.

"You are here to pay for your crimes against L'manberg. You, Technoblade, have robbed our country. You stepped in when you shouldn't have and you ruined the gover-" Techno had been listening to what Tubbo was saying, ready to spit venom back at them, but he had failed to notice someone approaching from the background. The stranger was letting loose explosives on the platform that they were standing on and as the chaos broke out as they tried to make sure that none of it went off, Quackity ran forward and slammed his hand into the button at the bottom of the mechanism, stepping back to watch as the anvil started to drop. 

Techno already had his hands in his cloak, gripping the totem tightly. He could only hope that it worked like he had read it would.

When the anvil hit him, several things happened at once. The first was the excruciating pain of death. The second was the blinding light of the totem's magic working. The third was the awareness that he wasn't dead, that he had survived the hit with splatters of blood around him, on him. And he knew that it was a moment for him to escape. The cage was open and the chaos of the light that had come from the totem had left an opening. Techno jumped onto the side of the cage and then out of it, balancing on the edge of the platform. He pulled the rope of the anvil up until he was carrying the anvil with him. He didn't need it, but it was the one thing that had managed to get to him out of everything else in the damned world. He wanted to keep that. As he started to move along the structure on the lake, he saw something unexpected. His horse, Carl, who had been tied up at the entrance to L'manberg was being ridden by Dream just on the shore.

From behind him, there was a chorus of voices yelling and shouting. Most of them seemed confused about how Techno wasn't dead, wasn't captured in the cage anymore. But Techno was already moving, no time for the questions that they were yelling. Even carrying the anvil, he was faster than them. He followed Carl around a couple buildings and down into a tunnel that he hadn't remembered being there before. He disappeared into the tunnels, following his horse and the hooded figure on top of him. When he got in there, Dream was off of Carl's back, staring at him. He held out the reigns to Techno.

"Take the tunnels and leave. There are things in the chest for you." And then in an instant, Dream was gone, the reigns falling back down into the empty space. Techno bit back everything, his thoughts, the voices that were screaming at him about the situation, any feeling he had about the way that this had gone. He didn't want to owe anyone anything. He didn't want to be in this situation where someone could ask for something back, but there was nothing that he could do if he wanted to live. This was the best plan out of there, even though his things had been left behind. He bit a shout back as he stood there, going through the things in the chest. Techno pulled out a pickaxe, the only piece of his equipment that hadn't been taken. Techno donned the iron armor that had been left, even though it was much lower than what he wanted. And just as the voices were starting to become unbearable, he heard someone in the tunnel behind him.

"What the fuck was that, Techno? How did that anvil not kill you?" Quackity was right there, right behind him in armor that was infinitely better, a better weapon in his hand, anger shaking through him.

Techno turned his head to look at Quackity. "Did you really think that you could kill me that easily? Did you think that you could stop me?" Techno was holding the pickaxe firmly in his hand, something else tucked away in his pocket that he was ready to reach for. He turned his body a little to look fully at Quackity. "You know what? I had some things I was going to say if that trial had been a real trial. But it wasn't and it was a bit of a mess. So you get to hear it now." He spun the pickaxe in his hand and looked hard at Quackity. "I told all of you before that the government was the cause of all of your problems. I tried convincin' you of that. But even after I fought alongside you, you ignored what I said. I turned to fighting  _ against _ you and you still made a government in the remnants of the old one. And when I decided to give up on that and live alone in retirement, where I KILLED NO ONE, you hunted me down. You stole from Phil. You threatened my life."

Quackity held his ax up in the air. "You don't understand. This isn't just about the withers or what you did before. I don't give a fuck about the withers. I'm building a country here, Techno. And you're on the hit list. That's a country, an organization f of power. And you're a threat to that. I don't care how long it fucking takes or what I have to do, I am going to kill you to keep that country safe."

Techno burst out into laughter. He was staring at Quackity in the netherite armor, things that had been expertly crafted. He had a real weapon too. Techno looked down at his iron armor and the pickaxe in his hand. It would be more than enough. "And you think you're enough to kill me? Even without my armor and my weapons? You think you're enough to kill me?" Techno bared his teeth, the tusks on his face looking more and more like they could be used to tear apart Quackity. But Quackity didn't back down. He swung first, but Techno moved out of the way, rushing past Quackity towards the entrance of the tunnel, getting far enough away that the potions that he had collected from the trunk could be uncorked and thrown on the ground to create a plume of smoke. He turned back around to face Quackity with the shine of magic on him and he slammed his pickaxe into the armor, part of it cracking under the force of the hit. When he was close to Quackity, he hissed out, "I have a pickaxe, Quackity, and I'll put it through your teeth!"

Techno reared back and aimed his pickaxe at Quackity's face and although Techno missed and only made contact with the helmet that Quackity was wearing, he heard the damage.

Quackity was hitting Techno in equal measure, tearing apart the pitiful iron armor that he was wearing, but any wounds that Techno was suffering didn't matter. This was a battle that Techno couldn't afford to lose. He grinned menacingly after one hit drew blood out of his shoulder. And that was enough to make Quackity hesitate for a second too long. With a swift hit, Techno slammed the pickaxe directly into the side of Quackity's head. Quackity slammed into the wall, collapsing into a pile where he hit. Techno let out of a huff and then turned back around, picking up the lead for his horse and moving quickly through the tunnels and out of the city. His thoughts were only of home and the revenge that he would one day get on L'manberg for this very day.

\---

Far away and hours before, Dream sat on top of a tree, watching the area around him with a practiced casualness. Tommy puttered around, doing whatever it was that Tommy would do. Dream didn't need to see everything that he was doing to know what Tommy was roughly going to do; the kid wasn't that slick when he was trying to sneak around. Everything that he had done was there for Dream to know. He knew that Tommy was dreaming of escaping and that everything he was doing was in a bid to try and get out of his control. 

And for a while, he had put up with the shenanigans that Tommy wanted to pull even going so far as to help with the things that Tommy was trying to do. But it was obvious that Tommy wasn't changing his mind on whether or not he wanted to try and trick his way back to L'manberg, back to anything that Dream considered part of his domain. But now Dream was tired of it. He reached into his bag, feeling around for everything that he would need: plenty of explosives and a way for him to start the fires that would cause the fights. And then he jumped out of the tree and into the field. It was time for him to do something that he wasn't happy to do.

He walked into the structure that Wilbur had put together, and it was honestly a beautiful place. He hated the idea of destroying it, but this was what had to be done. He pulled out his flint and steel and as many explosives as he could. He placed out the explosives through the structure and then with one in his hand, he lit fire to the fuse and threw the explosive into the structure, watching as everything fell apart with a bang. The remnants smoldered, burning and smoking. He had started destroying all of the things that Tommy had built in this place.

And Tommy shouted about it. Dream knew that there was going to be shouting. He knew that there was going to be noise about this, but Dream didn't stop in his rampage as he went through everything that Tommy had created, everything that Wilbur had created. Even as Tommy followed him through the camp, pleading and begging for the things to be left alone. Everything that had been put together in this place, all of it was gone. And then Dream left. Tommy had no way home, the portal was gone, broken. Any tools that he could have used to put everything back together had been destroyed during this as well. Dream stood far away from the destruction, watching Tommy. He couldn't say anything that hadn't been said before about the situation as he looked on from a distance. There were other things in motion and he could hear the whispers about them on the wind.

Dream started walking away, whispering messages of his own into the air and whisking them away to intended recipients across the lands. As he walked away, he adjusted his mask, ensuring that it was snug on his face. Even people saw what was behind it, they wouldn't be believed.

Behind him, Tommy had built a tower up into the air to give him a vantage from which he could look down at the destroyed remains of the place that he had briefly considered a temporary home. And he thought about the ways that this could end. If he was dead, there was nothing more for Dream to mess with. But he could strike back. Tommy had friends, people he cared about, things he cared about, and he had to do something about the situation. He could stop the war that was brewing now. But there was something powerful about the moment; Dream wasn't there.

Tommy did jump off of the tower, diving straight into the water. He climbed to the shore and didn't wait to dry off before he started walking into the distance, past the craters that were all that was left of this place. He looked for spare items here and there, but he knew that there wasn't a lot left. There definitely wasn't anything that he was attached to. Those things were gone, burned to a crisp, except for the things that had been tucked away in the ender chest that he had. Those things he would be able to get a hold of later. At least he would still have those things, his most precious things. But for the moment, he barely had the basics to survive.

Tommy looked around for one last moment before he started walking through the dark, hiding from the monsters that were along the path. He could beat one or two at a time, but there was no way that he was going to be able to stand up against the hoards of them.

Eventually, he moved through forests to a place that was coated with a light dusting of snow. It definitely looked like it was going to get colder up in a place like this. He kept walking, looking for a place to take shelter. And that's when he saw it, a home out in the open. He walked up to it and then pushed open the doors on the front that looked like they led to a cellar. Already, the inside was warmer than the outside. He half expected someone to burst out from the upstairs and yell, but there was no one. He walked up the stairs, both flights, looking for someone. Despite the lit candles and other electric lights, there was no one in the house.

So instead of asking, he dug through the chests, took out materials, and then wandered around the other floors as he snacked on the dried foods that he found while he was looking around the house. While looking at the art, he realized something about the person that lived in this house. This wasn't just a random house in the snowy tundra. This was Technoblade's house. This was the house of someone that had tried to destroy him before, someone that he had betrayed and had betrayed him.

Tommy paused there before he made his way down to the bottom floor. If Techno caught him, this wouldn't be a good day. So he dug down into the ground, making the entrance to a cellar hidden and hard to see from above. In that place under the house, he made a small hovel, filled it with stolen goods. He could make this work. He could take from Technoblade and hide here until he was able to fight back against what Dream was doing, to get back the things that Dream had taken, to take back the life that Dream had tried to take from him. He could rest, if only for a moment. Tommy took the stolen bedding that he had gathered from the floor above and spread it out in a corner to lay down on. He was exhausted, and he would suffer Techno's wrath if it meant that he had a place to sleep away from where Dream could find him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obviously at this point I can let you guys know that I'm taking the canon a little bit loosely. I'm not using the three canon life rule, rather just making canon deaths terrible attacks. In essence, there's only one canon life, with magical potions and other things that they can use to bounce back from injuries that would normally just be fatal. This is the last chapter that is going to read more or less like a canon rewrite. After this, we're going to start deviating further and further away from canon.


	3. Chapter 3

Techno walked through the portal, dragging the pickaxe behind him as he walked over the snowy hills and back towards his house. The anvil had been left behind near the portal, a reminder of what lay in that direction. He hadn't really thought about it when he had grabbed it, his inhuman strength making it easy for him. Karl was following next to him, not at all phased by the trip through the nether realm to get here without being noticed. Techno was just happy to have his favorite companion back and to be home. He crested over the hill, looking at the home he had made. The lights were still on and he wondered if Phil was going to be okay. He didn't think that L'manberg would let him go free because of their connection. Phil was tough though; he would get through anything that they threw at him.

It all meant that the house would be empty, but at least it was still his.

As he walked down the hill, thinking of the ways that he was going to get his revenge on the country that had just tried to kill him, he noticed it. The cellar doors were slightly ajar. That wasn't right. Despite the fighting, he knew that there was no way that he had left the doors open. The only exception would be Karl's pen that he knew Quackity had destroyed to get his horse out of. He tied up Karl at the fence, inside the broken pen, and then crept closer to his home, pickaxe pulled up off the ground and ready to hit the first person he saw. That's when he noticed something off about the ground of the bottom floor. Something had been mined there, moved around.

Techno uncovered the entrance to a cave down below and he saw the flicker of low light. He followed the light and crept down the ladder, the pickaxe right at his hip, ready to be used as soon as he needed it.

He saw Tommy, someone he hadn't thought he would see again, laying on the floor in this cave, wrapped up in blankets that had obviously been taken from Techno's home. The kid looked worse for wear. His clothes were ragged, his shoes looked like they were barely holding up.

Techno stood at the bottom of the ladder, looking at Tommy. The kid had betrayed him before and he heard the whispers in his head, telling him to take the blood that was owed him. Blood for the blood god and just screeching at the sight of the kid. But he stepped back and he climbed back up the ladder. If Tommy was here and not in L'manberg, not with Tubbo, then something had happened. He had stopped by to see him once during his exile, but he had thought that he would stay there with the ghost of Wilbur under Dream's watchful eye. What had brought Tommy this far away from that? Techno opened his mouth like he was going to whisper into the air, ask someone else about it, but then he paused.

Did Dream know where Tommy was?

If Tommy had made it here, then maybe not. Techno tapped his fingers on the counter in the kitchen upstairs. He could use this. He could turn this situation around. Dream had helped him. That was a favor that he owed to that chaotic entity that was Dream. Techno thought about it. Dream wasn't human, although he had appeared human every time he had seen him. And whatever Dream was doing was of interest to Techno. There was the possibility that Techno could use anything that Dream planned to do to further his plan of destroying any governments that were remaining in the area. After all, they were using the governments against him now. He had been willing to let them go before, but now they were being weaponized against him. Techno took a breath, he could worry about that later. Tommy would play a part in that, he assumed.

For the moment, he would take pity on him. Even if he was going to be part of the plot, the kid had obviously been through something. And the only thing that Techno knew to do for people that were having a rough time was make them food. So he worked in the kitchen, put potatoes in the oven, and cut up some other ingredients. Before it was ready, he went back down the ladder into the lower part of his home and then down into the cave that Tommy had tunneled down to.

"Tommy," he said loudly. He watched the kid startle awake. He reached into the blankets, grabbing all the loose items that were scattered around him. Techno just stood and watched as Tommy caught up with what was happening at the moment. Techno held out a hand to Tommy. "Come upstairs, I just want to talk about...this." He gestured at the room with his other hand. Tommy didn't take Techno's hand, but stood up, his things still clutched in his arms. 

Tommy didn't say anything, just stood there flabbergasted, but when Techno turned around and started climbing up the ladder, Tommy followed after him, leaving behind the items that he had gathered into his arms. Techno made his way up to the floor with the kitchen and pulled out the things for baked potatoes and set them on the table. And then he pulled the potatoes out of the oven. Techno put one of them on a plate and then it down at the table. "Eat." Techno didn't leave room for questions. Any other foods that had been left in the house were dried rations and just ingredients, nothing nearly as nice as freshly made food.

Tommy didn't sit down immediately, but Techno fixed him with a stare and that was enough to make him move. He sat down at the table and started to dig into the baked potato, putting all sorts of things on top. By the way he ate, he hadn't anything freshly made for quite a while. Techno didn't even take the second baked potato for himself, instead setting the second one down on Tommy's plate. He could eat later.

"Where did you come from and why are you hiding in a cave under my house with my things in chests that are labeled with your name?"

"What's it to you? How do you know that those things aren't mine? Or they could be ours?" Tommy's words were muffled by the food he was eating. Techno just shook his head and walked to the oven. He turned on a burner and filled the kettle with water.

When the kettle was heating up, he turned around and looked at Tommy. "This is my house. You're the one that's here when they shouldn't be."

"But you're feeding me."

"Because no one in their right mind would see someone looking like you do would not give you food. I'm not heartless, I just like my things remaining untouched. So after this, you'll need to get going."

"But-"

"I don't want you living in my floorboards like a raccoon."

"Techno, I don't know where to go," Tommy said, stopping eating to look at the piglin-hybrid.

"Not my problem. Can't you just go back to L'manberg?"

"If Dream finds me in L'manberg, he'll kill me."

Techno tilted his head. "Dream doesn't know that you're out here right now?"

"I might have slipped away when he was busy."

Techno stood there for a second, thinking through what had probably transpired to get everything to this point. There were several options, but the clearest one was the fact that Tommy had slipped Dream while Dream had been in L'manberg helping Techno. That window wasn't a large one, which meant that Dream was already looking for Tommy. Techno rubbed his chin and then turned around as soon as he heard the kettle start to whistle. He poured himself a cup of hot water, then added in a teabag from a cabinet. He sat down at the table with Tommy, setting the steaming cup of tea down. Tommy was still focused mainly on the food and Techno spotted the worry in his eyes when he had sat down at the table.

Whatever Dream had done to him out there wasn't good. And as neutral as Techno wanted to be, he wasn't sure he wanted to be neutral about the way that a literal kid was being treated.

"What are you going to do now that you're away from him?"

"I'm going to find a way to get back my discs and then get back to L'manberg."

Techno absently rubbed the side of his mug. "I'm not saying that our goals are aligned completely, but how about this? You stay here and provide me help with getting revenge on L'manberg for what they did to me, like trying to execute me, and I'll help you get the gear to get back your discs. If it doesn't work for you, then you'll get out of here and find another place to stay."

"What do you mean by get revenge?"

Techno took a sip of his tea, trying to look nonchalant. "Some mild terrorism."

"Now I can get behind that."

And Techno sat there listening to Tommy ramble about everything. It seemed like there was a lot that he wanted to say, even though he wasn't really saying much. Techno wondered how long he had been alone. He knew that Ghostbur had been out there with him and that Dream had dropped by, but if Dream wasn't doing anything good, then what had his life been like in that deserted place? Techno took a long sip of tea, wondering just how much he could trust Tommy and how much he wanted to trust Dream if the chance came to work with him. That favor was still up in the air as well. If Dream cashed in on it, it could tell him a lot about how much trust he could give Dream in the first place.

When Tommy started to fall asleep, Techno moved him to the couch, covering him in blankets. And as Techno cleaned the kitchen and got rid of the scraps, he felt anger, pure anger in his stomach from so many things at once. He wanted to destroy something. The voices were chattering away. When everything was settled, Techno grabbed his pickaxe, and then he walked out the front door. Tommy would be safe enough here. The monsters that lurked in the forest wouldn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have anything to say lmao. Sorry for taking so long to get this out and it not being super long. I got distracted by other fics. I'm trying to balance all the projects I want to work on right now.


	4. Chapter 4

When morning came, Techno was inside his house, making a new cup of tea. He needed something to get him past the hours of missed sleep. He stared for a moment at the masks near the door, the pig one was scuffed up from the events of the last day, but he couldn't bring himself to put back on the one next to it, bone white with soot on the edges. He turned his attention away from the masks, focusing on what he could do at the moment. There were new potion ingredients in the basement and he had potions brewing down there, but there were other things that he wanted to do. He pulled out a notebook and started listing all the things that he wanted to get done, carefully worded so that Tommy wouldn't get too upset looking at it. The goal would be to destroy L'manberg, but there was time to convince Tommy that that was the right path.

Tommy was waking up by the time Techno had finished listing out the things that he wanted to get done. There were a couple of key items on the list like getting back his weapons, causing general havoc in L'manberg as a cover for checking on Phil and what L'manberg had done to him, and spending time working on his resources for what he was going to do. There were some pieces that were already done, contingency plans that he had had in place from the very beginning of his retirement and it was after Tommy walked into the kitchen that Techno looked up from the notebook.

"Eat some fruit or something and then put on one of my extra cloaks. There's something I want to show you since we'll be working together now." Techno took one last sip of his tea before he stood up and started to head downstairs to check on the potions.

Tommy stood in the kitchen and headed to the fridge, pulling out some of the beautifully golden apples that Techno had in there. He sleepily was munching away on one when Techno came back upstairs with a basket full of potions. Techno put them up on the shelf that he had left bare after the last conflict. There were plenty of backups downstairs, but he needed potions that were readily available in every part of the house now that it was looking like a lot of fighting was going to be in the future. The rest of the potions were set to brew for a little while, so Techno looked at Tommy and then gestured for him to follow him. Techno was already wearing a cloak, but Tommy still hadn't put one on.

"Hurry up."

Tommy waved his hand as pulled on one of the cloaks that was hanging near the door. "You hurry up, bitch." It was too long, but it was a layer of warmth against the growing cold outside. Techno led the way, going down the stairs of his home and then starting across the field. Tommy trailed behind him, taking in the way that the area looked in the morning. It was a pretty place, a good place for someone that was trying to retire from a life of chaos. Techno didn't look back as he walked across the landscape, walking closer to the towering hills that were near the edge of the valley. The small cliffs there were covered in snow and ice, but Techno paused in front of one of the smooth cliff faces and looked back at Tommy.

Tommy was still lagging behind, the apple in his hand as he munched on it. Techno sighed, crossing his arms.

"Chill out, big man," Tommy said as he tossed the core of the apple into the snow. "I'm here. No need to get moody. It's early. I'm tired."

"You're killing the mood."

"We're staring at a rock wall, there's not really much of a mood."

Techno rubbed the back of his head. "Whatever. There's a mood now, so stop ruining it. Since we're working together, there's something that I wanted to show you."

Tommy looked at Techno and took a step back away from the wall. "Are you going to kill me or something?"

"No? What's the point of that? I would have killed you when I found you if that's what I wanted to do. There was something I had been working on during retirement, just in case. And I think as a sign that I'm happy to be working with you, I would show you just what it is that I've been working on." Techno pressed his hand into one of the panels of stone and slowly a portion of the wall started to move down. The room inside was smooth and perfectly made, obviously Techno had taken the time to make sure that this room was going to be magnificent. There were decorations on the wall and at first that's all Tommy thought they were. And then it dawned on him as he saw the pile of dark sand at the other end of the room. These were the components for summoning withers, not just one or two, but dozens. The wall was covered in the skulls that were necessary for that many summonings.

And Techno took a few steps into the room and then turned around to look at Tommy with a wild grin on his face. "Welcome home, Theseus."

Tommy stared at Techno, stared at the walls covered in skulls, and then he started shouting. "WHAT THE FUCK?"

Techno just started laughing and turned around to walk further into the room. There were chests full of resources, but there was a stand at the other end of the room, just before the piles of sand. And Techno pulled the pieces of armor off of it, holding them out to look at how they looked compared to Tommy. "We'll have to resize some of this, but you'll have a set of armor to protect you when we start causing havoc in L'manberg."

Tommy ran forward, looking at the armor, marveling at all of the enchantments that were carved into the metal.

The two of them started chatting, Tommy asking who the hell Theseus was and Techno launching into a lecture on the hero of Theseus. In the distance, over a hill, Phil sat, invisible. He was happy to see that the two of them were doing good. He hadn't expected Tommy to show up here, but it wasn't an unwelcome sight. Techno needed a friend of some kind and for the moment, Tommy needed someone that could protect him. Phil stretched his wings and took off unseen back through the sky to L'manberg. So far, no one had come looking for him in his home. And he was hoping that it would remain that way, but when he landed on his roof and climbed down into his attic, he heard the sound of people on the first floor of his home.

Cursing, Phil pulled out a small bottle of milk that he had brought with him just in case he wanted to be visible again and he chugged it down. Visible now, he climbed out of his attic, arms full of random supplies that had been up there as cover. He was humming as he walked down the stairs to the first floor, and he paused when he saw the group in his home.

"Philza, Philza, Philza," Quackity said, "You didn't think that we were going to let you just remain quietly in your home when we know that you're a friend of Techno, did you?"

Phil shook his head, looking at the four people that were in his home. "What are you talking about?"

"You know that Techno did some terrible things to L'manberg," Tubbo said, "And you live here and yet you still talk to him. We can't have you flying off to Techno right now."

"You mean after you tried to kill him? You think that I'm going to turn on all of you or something?"

"No! At least I don't think so," Tubbo said, looking back at Quackity.

Quackity stepped forward. "We just want to make sure that Techno knows that we have someone that he cares about here. Not like he's going to destroy us if there's someone here that he cares about."

Tubbo looked down at the ground and muttered, "At least, he won't do it right away."

Phil put his hand on the knife at his belt. "And how do you think that you're going to go about keeping me here?"

"You're under house arrest, Phil," Tubbo said, "We have an ankle monitor and there will be orders to kill you if you're spotted outside of your home or if we detect that you're out of your house."

Quackity was holding up the ankle monitor. Phil removed his hand from the knife and set down the supplies that he had brought down with him. "Alright, then," he said, "Put it on."

Once it was secured, the four left the house. Ranboo and Tubbo were the last two out. Both of them looked hesitant, uncertain about the things that were happening in front of them, but where Tubbo put on a strong face and decided that it was for the good of everyone when he left, Ranboo just looked sadly over his shoulder. Phil watched as they closed the door and then he sat down on the couch in his living room. At least he had confirmed that Techno was alright after the events of the other day. While he hadn't been out in the open during the execution, he had been in the air, far enough away to not get caught up in everything. He was surprised to see the flash of light come from Techno. It looked like what had been described as a totem of undying, a magical item that was difficult to craft and only certain groups knew how to make them. And if Techno had one, then he would know where to get more.

Phil pulled out a journal from the pile of papers on the table in his living room. Inside were notes about rituals that he had researched over the last couple of weeks. Some of this was due to Techno's help finding old texts. Others were things that he had found during his journey. Even before the events that had transpired here, Phil had always been interested in the ways that people could cheat death. But now, there was a reason behind wanting to do that kind of work. There was a goal in mind, not just the pursuit of knowledge. He hated that there was a goal now. He hated that how this goal had come to be, but he wouldn't dwell on it. He couldn't.

Phil sat down in his living room, crossing his ankle across his lap so that he could get a good look at the ankle monitor that they had put on him. It wasn't a design that he recognized, but he didn't doubt that there had been a lot of thought that had been put into the device that they had used on him. He got up and walked to the kitchen where a bird was sitting in a cage. He opened the window and then took out a piece of paper that was small enough to tie easily to the bird's ankle. If they were monitoring his movements, then they would likely be looking to intercept any magically sent messages that came for or from him. He couldn't risk them finding out everything, so he penned down a short note for Techno. "Stuck at home. Don't do anything too stupid." He tied the message to the bird and then let it out of its cage. It flew up and out of L'manberg, crossing over forests and ocean to get to the snowy tundra of Techno's house where it tapped on the window.

Inside, Tommy was sitting at the table, eating another apple. He looked at the window and tilted his head. "That bird is awfully annoying," he said, "Can I go and practice shooting my bow at it?"

Techno shook his head and moved Tommy out of the way to get to the window. "Stop eating all of my gapples." When he opened it, the bird flew into the open and empty birdcage in the corner of the living space. Techno walked over to the cage and took the message that was tied to its ankle. He read over it and then closed the cage.

"What is it?" Tommy asked, trying to get to a place where he could see the message in Techno's hand. Techno just shoved Tommy away before he threw the scrap of paper into the fireplace. 

"Just a message from Phil. Nothing for you to be worried about, Tommy."

"Phil lives in L'manberg most of the time, right? How is it over there? Can we go and visit?"

Techno pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're still exiled as far as the people in L'manberg are concerned, Tommy. And I'm not exactly welcome there after what I did. And if we're going to L'manberg it's going to be to do some mild terrorism. It's not a field trip for you to go and see friends."

"You don't have to sound like a bitch about it," Tommy said, crossing his arms. "I haven't been able to see L'manberg in months. I miss it there."

Techno's stance softened for just a moment before he thought back to the botched execution. Thoughts rolled through his head in shades of red and silver, the desire to destroy and kill. He turned away from Tommy to look for a pen. He didn't say a word as he wrote down the message back to Phil. "I'll hold onto the key for your basement until you can visit again. When you do, bring milk." The message would be vague enough that a stranger wouldn't know what it meant, but how many people would be checking birds for secret messages? Opening the window, Techno let the bird out again with the message tied to its ankle. He would give it an hour or two before he followed it.

"I have a proposal for you Tommy," Techno said, "How do you feel about seeing Philza?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am keeping milk removing potion effects because I'm lazy and it's convenient. idk what else to say, i'm just having fun writing this fic


	5. Chapter 5

Techno held a potion in his hand. It was surprisingly easy to make potions that could hide your existence from anyone that was walking around near you. But the one thing it couldn't do was shut Tommy up. He could hear Tommy chattering behind him, talking about the time that he had spent in exile, things that he hadn't been able to do before, things that he missed, people that he missed, sights that he missed. Techno was growing more annoyed than compassionate when it came to Tommy's plight. Now that he had been fed well and gotten a new set of clothes, the kid was insufferable. He kept talking about things he wanted to build in the snowy place that Techno called home. And repeatedly Techno had had to remind him that the area wasn't his to build on. It was Techno's property. But that had just earned more whining. Even reminders about needing to lay low weren't enough to stop Tommy from asking if he could build a tower. It was only the threat of not coming to L'manberg that eventually shut Tommy up and even that was only until they were through the portal into the Nether.

"You're going to need to shut up once we're at the entrance to the area," Techno said as they got close to the portal that would take them through L'manberg, "The potion makes you invisible, not silent. Although I could make a potion for that too..."

"No, no, no, big man. I got this. They won't know what hit them. We'll be in and out and those bitches will be none the wiser." Tommy threw a thumbs up Techno's way, but Techno just stared at him before slamming the glass bottle into the ground. The smoke coated them with something that made both him and Tommy look like they were shining glass for a moment and then they were gone. Techno pulled a ribbon out of his bag, the only thing visible now on him, and tied it around his wrist. He watched the space where Tommy was and waited for him to pull a similar ribbon onto his wrist.

"Tommy," Techno hissed, "Hurry up."

Tommy laughed. "Sorry, sorry. I just got distracted by how cool this is!"

When Techno saw the floating ribbon on Tommy's wrist, he grabbed him and pulled him through the portal that put them on the hill near L'manberg. The two of them were now standing on a platform and looking out at a place that Tommy hadn't seen in a while. Techno, while still not welcome in the city, had snuck in more than once to see Philza, to spread posters for his cause, and more. No one had taken up arms against the government, but at least he had gotten them talking about it. Techno stopped and looked at the space where he knew Tommy was standing. He couldn't see the kid, but the silence that was now coming from that space told him a lot about how the kid was coping with everything. Silence wasn't a good sign when it came to Tommy.

"Move," Techno hissed, "Head towards the center of L'manberg. We're going to Philza's house." And he watched the ribbon move, then hesitate.

"Can you lead the way?" Techno paused when he heard that. That definitely wasn't what he was expecting to come of Tommy's mouth.

Techno nodded, then remembering how he was invisible, quietly said, "Yes." And then he started moving carefully through the street. There weren't many people out and about right now, most people were laying low too for their own reasons. But that just meant that it was going to be easy to break into and then out of the country. They walked quickly, taking the side paths, walking around major landmarks in ways that Tommy had never walked before.

Tommy caught a glimpse of his own house as they walked past it, but there was someone else's name on it. He was about to yell when he paused and looked harder at the situation. If he said anything, if he got them caught, it could spell the end of this. It could spell Dream finding him again. So Tommy said nothing more as Techno led him through the city, straight through main streets to where Philza's house was.

\---

Far away, but closer than people would be happy with, Dream was watching. He didn't need to see to know what Techno and Tommy were doing. He had heard about the fact that L'manberg had put Philza under house arrest from Tubbo. Poor little Tubbo, Dream could laugh at that kid all day. He was so trusting, so eager to have a friend on his side now that Tommy was far away. And Tubbo's new 'friend' had just suggested that he go to Logstedshire to see how Tommy was doing, how he was holding up. The tower was probably still there, towering over the ruined landscape. And wouldn't that be useful? A grieving kid wouldn't know who to trust. Dream snickered to himself. Everything was falling into place.

He stood on top of the buildings, looking down at L'manberg. There were so many things that he would be happy to be rid of one of these days, but there was still work that they needed to do for him first. And then one day, Dream could have what he wanted most. Behind his mask, he smiled wildly. But when Tubbo looked up and waved at him before he took off towards the portal, Dream just looked like he was enjoying a peaceful day. Dream waved back, his laughter hidden by how far up he was.

\---

Techno didn't walk straight into Phil's house, instead dropping down into the water under the house before darting up and out of the water in a basement that was partially submerged. Tommy had followed him closely, but the two of them were coughing once they made it in because Techno needed to wait and help make sure that Tommy got into the basement first. Phil wasn't down there, but there were two bottles of milk sitting down there, waiting for them. Techno drank his first and then climbed up into Phil's first floor. There was no one there, but the entrance to the attic was open. Techno climbed up the ladder into the attic and found Phil sitting in a chair up there with a cup of water in his hands.

"Took you long enough," Phil said, "And you brought the kid with you too! Good to see you, Tommy."

"How do." It was the only greeting that Tommy could give. But there was something odd about the way that Tommy looked in this house. It was like he wasn't sure what to do with himself now that he was back in L'manberg. He looked around the house and fidgeted with his hands.

"Make yourself at home, but stay away from the windows," Phil said, watching Tommy start to walk away to look around the house. His eyes slid over to Techno and he crossed his leg so that the ankle monitor was visible. "They've got me under house arrest with this. I haven't found anything magical on the premises yet, but I'm guessing that it's just a matter of time before they do something to further contain me here. They know my reputation in this world. They're not going to think that just this will work."

"How hard do you think it would be to break it?" Techno said, his hand going to the pickaxe at his hip.

"Ah ah ah," Phil said, moving his foot back down to the ground. "Don't worry about me, I'll get out of here soon enough. I've got other questions that I want answers to. The totem of undying, where did you get it?"

Techno looked at Phil and then at the small window in the room. "It wasn't easy, Phil," Techno said, "And as much as I would love to help you find one that you could use for Wilbur, I don't have time for that right now."

"Too busy plotting how you're going to destroy L'manberg for what they've done?" Phil asked, voice low and quiet. Tommy wasn't on the floor anymore so it wasn't like he was going to hear, but Phil was smart, he knew that Tommy wouldn't be here with Techno if all the cards were on the table.

"Right. I'm goin' to get back my weapons first and then I'm going to come back full force. I have a slew of weapons on my hands for this. And- I'll show you when you're out of here. When you get out, come north and move in permanently. And then I'll tell you about what I've got and the plan I have."

Phil nodded. "Right. And after the two of us get our revenge on this place, you and I can go on an adventure and you can show me where you got the totem."

Techno nodded in return and the two of them fell into a comfortable silence.

"I'm glad you didn't die, mate."

"As I always say, Technoblade never dies."

Downstairs, Tommy stayed away from the windows, but he looked out at L'manberg from within the house, drinking in the sight on a normal day with nothing going wrong, with no walls, no one fighting out there. There were small changes, a platform that looked like it was made to contain someone sat out there, metal parts broken like someone had broken out. "What are you doing, Tubbo?" he whispered.

\---

The trip out of L'manberg was slower, more careful. Techno brought Tommy past all sorts of locations and the kid seemed happy to be there to see things, even though Techno couldn't see his face. But there was a reason why Techno was there. He wasn't just trying to go on a nostalgia trip for Tommy. He was checking what was in town. Things had changed since the last time he had been here, since the first time he had tried to help destroy it. They had rebuilt things, put new things up. New people had moved in, other people had moved slightly out. He'd been scouting before when he come out for other things, but now was a time to fully take stock of the place that he wanted to destroy and how he was going to best go about it.

There were a few of these new people that he found interesting in the way that they fit into the city. Ranboo for one was interesting. The kid didn't look human, but didn't look like any other hybrid that Techno had ever seen. But as Techno and Tommy were on the way out, they spotted him, wandering around the town, just happy to be there. He had seen the kid before with the rest of the gang that had come to the north, but he didn't seem like he was part of the crowd. He was there, but his heart wasn't in the cause that they had come out there for. He would have to ask Phil about the kid to learn more about what he was doing here and where he was going. A weakness in the government could be exploited so that he could better dismantle it completely.

But for the time being, knowing who was where and what was happening was enough. He needed to be able to come back another day and the more time that they spent in the town, the more likely it would be that they would get caught up in something that they were not ready for. A pickaxe could break teeth, but he wanted a blade in his hands again.

Tommy and Techno slipped through the portal and made their way along the path back to Techno's house, the invisibility fading from them as they walked through the hellish plane.

"So big man, what's the plan? What kind of hijinks are we going to do to L'manberg?" Tommy was talking loudly, hands behind his head. He looked relaxed for someone that had fallen off the path more than once.

"We're goin' to gather some supplies and we're going to go graffiti the town tomorrow. We're going to get rid of those wanted posters and make sure that they know that trying to kill me doesn't mean that I'll just disappear. Maybe they'll get their act together."

"Lame," Tommy said, "I want to do something bigger."

Techno raised an eyebrow. "We can figure out who has my weapons and demand them back. It'll probably be a hostage situation, some destruction of property."

"YEAH. Now that's what I'm talking about."

Techno grinned. He thought that he would have to start light, make sure that Tommy was willing to do something like cause destruction in a place that he had called home. But this punk was more than ready to destroy things. Techno rubbed his chin as he listened to Tommy ramble. He wondered if he could one day actually trust the kid to get involved in the real plan. He had shown part of his hand and he hadn't run yet. Maybe there was hope for this kid to be on his side. Techno shook his head. Even if he wanted to hope that, it was much too early. Tommy wasn't reliable enough. He knew that from firsthand experience, but still, it was nice to have another familiar face around.

Instead, Techno turned his attention to the supplies that he needed for the next day.

And while Tommy ate another one of his golden apples and started thinking about towers he could build, Techno sat with the potions downstairs, plotting out just what he needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spend a lot of my time, even while watching new lore, thinking about this period and how differently things could have turned out. When I started this, a lot of major things hadn't happened yet and my plans hinged around choices that got made differently. I'm still trying to decide how far from canon I want to go. I might go very far and go the way that I wished some things could have gone.


	6. Chapter 6

Techno didn't want to head out immediately. Instead, he stayed at home for an extra day, making sure that he had all the intel that he could use. Phil sent letters throughout the day, talking about nothing and yet everything. The weapons that Techno was interested in were hiding in the hands of several different people and they seemed to change hands fast. Phil couldn't tell if it was because they had realized that Phil was still getting in contact with Techno or if they were just messing around. But the last message that had arrived from Phil was extremely interesting. "Ranboo wants to talk to you."

That was it. Techno had agreed to it and made his way to the nether to wait to see if Ranboo came through. When Techno spotted the half-enderman walking through the Nether, he waved him over, the two of them walking across bridges that were rarely used to get them out to the artic area that Techno called home. The two were silent until they had made it through to the other side. Ranboo sighed. "I-I'm sorry Techno. I know that I was there for everything that happened to you, but even as it was happening, I wasn't sure that they were making the right choice. They wanted to get rid of you because you were a threat to their ideas, but I think, and please tell me if I'm wrong, you would have left everyone alone if we just...hadn't done anything that directly affected you. I can't speak for the rest of them. But I just... it didn't feel right to have all of your things in our hands when you were just trying to mind your business."

Ranboo stopped walking and pulled Techno's armor out of his bag, presenting it to the pig hybrid.

Techno took it, passed his hands over the dents and things that he would have to repair. But it was his. And it was home. He looked at the kid and then jerked his head at the tundra. "Come have a cup of tea at my house at least, as a thank you for bringing me back some of my things." The half-enderman lit up at the idea of that and followed Techno across the landscape, walking in silence. It was very different from the way that Tommy conducted himself, chattering incessantly as soon as there was quiet. In a way, it was comfortable, but Techno missed the sound of someone else talking, filling the quiet that his head would otherwise overwrite with violent thoughts.

But the silence didn't last long. They walked up to the house where Tommy was making a lot of noise as he went through things in the basement. The string of curses that came out from the basement just made Techno shake his head.

"Is he always like that?" Ranboo asked as he paused in the doorway, making sure that the doors were securely shut behind him. "I haven't spent a lot of time around him, but it seems like this might normal."

Techno put the kettle on the burner and turned on the heat. "Unfortunately, he is always like that. And he's getting louder every single day."

"He's always seemed energetic. Except for in the letters he sent while he was in exile. He sounded...sad but energetic. Weird combo, but if it works it works."

"What the fuck is this guy doing here?" Tommy shouted as he came up the stairs. He had his arms full of so many things. Techno narrowed his eyes when he looked at Tommy.

"I was just in the area. And I picked something up to give back to Techno. And now I'm here. It's not a big deal," Ranboo said.

"But you're on their side." Tommy swiveled to look at Techno, who was just wrapped up in looking at his armor.

"The kid can do what he wants." It's all Techno had to offer to the conversation as he looked over the details of the armor, deciding what was going to be harder to fix in the spots and what was going to be easy enough to fix.

"I like to think that I'm on the side of the people, not the sides that people make," Ranboo said. "I like L'manberg, but I'd really like it more if everyone there was getting along and not fighting about little things all the time. And the way that they pulled Techno out was too much. I was there, I saw. I feel...bad."

"You have nothing to feel bad about Ranboo," Techno said. "Consider us even."

Ranboo nodded and smiled and then looked between the two of them. "So what's it like living out here and not in exile like you were before?"

Tommy took a second to consider everything that had just happened in front of him before he opened his mouth. "It's fucking cold. It's the worst. Not that I want to live on a beach again, but we constantly wear layers upon layers upon layers and it just takes so long to get out of the house sometimes. You know..."

Tommy continued to rattle on as he went to the kitchen, filling his arms with gapples as he talked through all the little things that were annoying him. Techno didn't say a word, but Ranboo watched them both. If there was a place to be in this world, this was the right one, Ranboo thought. He opened his notebook and jotted something down, just the stray errant thought that passed through his head.

_Techno and Tommy seem happy._

\---

It was when Ranboo went to leave that Techno walked with him silently through the snow again. The two of them didn't have much left to say, but the silence felt like too much. Ranboo opened his mouth to say something and then thought about it again.

"How is Phil?" Techno asked as they got to the portal, just curious how Phil was acting with the others. He sounded fine in the letters, but it was hard to read tone in coded messages.

Ranboo shuffled his feet; this was a topic that he had wanted to talk about, but he was certain that Techno wanted the truth. "Unhappy. He's physically fine, but he's been trapped in that house for a while and it's sounding like it's going to be a while more until Tubbo can convince anyone else that he should be free. They keep asking him questions, about you, about what you did before, about what he did before. I think one day he's going to snap."

"He'll have his chance to snap at them," Techno muttered.

Ranboo ignored the statement and moved on. "He's...okay, though. He's not happy, but none of us are. But they still think you're a threat and he's a line to you."

Techno nodded quietly and then stood next to the portal. "I assume that you can find your way to your own home from here?"

"Yeah, I can manage." Ranboo walked through the portal and Techno watched as he disappeared. He didn't wait too long before he started walking back toward the house where he found Tommy messing with decorations and items. He had turned the house into a winter wonderland, covered in small things, bits and bobs. Techno looked at it all and then moved back inside to read a book that he had set aside for a bit. There would be time for action later, now was a time for considering the next attack.

\---

When Techno woke up the next morning, he was alone in the living room of the house, sitting with a book in his hand. But there was a blanket draped across him, something that had been brought to him in the night by Tommy probably. Techno stood up and then he looked down the stairs at where Tommy had lived before. He shuddered to think about how that pit might have been an improvement on everything else that he was dealing with. He went upstairs to where the small bedrooms were and opened the door that was Tommy's temporary bedroom. The kid was sprawled out across the bed, snoring a little as he slept. But it was the most relaxed that Techno had seen him. When he was awake, Tommy was always just a little bit anxious, a little bit guarded, even when he was yelling and acting as he had before. Techno closed the door and walked to his own room, opening the door and closing it quietly. And then he lit a lamp and sat in the quiet of his room.

He stared down at his hands, the scars lining all of his skin. He had fought so many times for so many things and he was getting tired. But even when this was over, he wasn't certain that he would be able to get out of the fighting. Techno rubbed his face and then stood up again. He went downstairs and grabbed a cloak off the wall and a mask. He quickly put everything on. The only weapon he had, the pickaxe, was in his hands as he went out. And he walked around the edges of the property, dipping into the forest, looking for signs of people coming near the house. He just needed to feel safe again.

\---

Tommy woke up mid-morning. And when he realized that the sun was high in the sky, he was a little bit confused. Techno would have normally gotten him up at this point. And weren't there plans that they had? Walking quietly down the stairs, Tommy heard someone knocking on the door. He froze, thinking about how he could sneak back up without being seen. He couldn't tell who it was. And as he backed up the stairs and stood at the top, he heard something that made his blood turn to ice.

"Techno, are you home?" Dream called out.

Tommy backed up further from the stairs, almost forgetting that he needed to be quiet. The knocking stopped.

"Techno, I know you're in there." Dream's voice sounded almost like a threat. Tommy took a deep breath. He needed to hide, needed to get out of sight in case Dream came in. He needed to be far away from everything. He opened the door to Techno's room and ducked into it. He quickly looked around the room. The closet would be too easy to be found in. He dropped down onto the hardwood floor and looked under the bed. There was space enough for him to get under there and things that could block him from view, so he moved one box out of the way, then another, and got under the bed, boxing himself in and hiding. He could only hope that Techno came back soon and took care of Dream.

\---

Hunting hadn't been part of the plan, but while Techno had been out in the woods, he had seen the tracks of animals. And so he tracked the animals down to a clearing, noting where their nest was hiding. He didn't want to hunt them then and there. He could come back this way and actually hunt them another day when he had his weapons back. And he made his way back to the house. It would be a later start to the day than he wanted, but it would be fine. But then he smelled it, something wrong in the air as he approached the house. The clearing around the house just smelled wrong. And then he saw why. Dream was standing on his doorstep, leaning to look through the window.

"What are you doing here, Dream?" Techno yelled, adjusting his mask as he walked closer.

Dream swiveled his head and looked at Techno. "There you are. I could have sworn you were at home. I heard the wood creaking inside."

"The house makes noise sometimes. What do you want?" Techno stepped to the door, Dream sliding out of his way and leaning against the railing while Techno unlocked the door and walked inside.

"Oh, you know, nothing much. Just was walking around and was thinking that maybe I should drop in and give you a visit. It's been a while since I've seen you, but I have heard that you're getting into quite a bit of chaos out here." Dream walked into the house and sat down at the table.

"Why would you be walking around up here? Don't you have a house that you can hang out at or something normal? Or are you homeless? I don't have any spare rooms I can offer you."

Dream shook his head. "I'm not homeless. I have a house a ways out."

"Sounds like something a homeless man in denial would say," Techno muttered as he started boiling water for tea, "So if you're not looking for a spare room, what are you here for? Checking in on me is a bullshit reason. You have ears all over, you know already what's happened to me. And you're smart, so you can probably guess what I'm working on. So what is it?"

Dream tilted his head back. "Mmmm. You've always been a smart one. I'm looking for Tommy."

"Who?"

Dream laughed. "I know he's been in exile, but you don't have to pretend you don't know who he is."

"I mean at this point I haven't seen him for so long, why would you expect me to know where that kid is? He betrayed me and I betrayed him. I am the last person that he would run to."

"You're right...but the thing is... Tommy's missing. He had been in this nice little spot I had helped him pick. And I had been visiting him. But shortly after I helped you in L'manberg, he must have left. Because I haven't seen him there for days. And this is actually one of the closest buildings to him. I thought he might have found his way to you, but if you haven't seen him..."

"I haven't seen him. I was just doing scouting around the land that I consider mine and I haven't seen any signs of him running through here." Techno made himself a cup of tea and then looked at Dream. "Do you want any?"

"No, I'm not planning on being around here long enough to want a cup of tea. Gotta keep looking for Tommy. How are you holding up since Phil's trapped in L'manberg?"

Techno gripped the mug tightly. "He's doing fine. I have a plan already in place."

"Oh?"

Techno didn't reply; he just nodded.

"Good to know. Good to know..."

"So is there a reason why you're still sitting in my house? Did you want to cash in on that favor? Use me to hunt down Tommy?"

"Oh no, I don't need you to do that. I already have a plan for that favor."

"Then maybe it's time for you to get out of my home and go work on building yourself a house somewhere, homeless man." Techno's voice was deadpan, but the comment made Dream laugh so hard he was wheezing.

"Very funny. I have a house. But I will be back eventually Techno, I think there are things that you might be interested in."

"Sure, sure." Techno sets down the mug and walks to the door, holding it open for Dream. "I've got things to do though and as much as I don't think you'll try to sabotage me, I don't feel like having someone be here for them."

Dream stood up and raised his hands. "Understandable. I know you do your best work on your own. And...just let me know if you see Tommy."

"Sure, if he stops by, I'll make sure to let you know." Techno tilted his head, gesturing out the door.

Dream shook his head a little bit, the eye roll was almost apparent even with the mask on. Dream stepped out of the house and then walked through the snow. Techno returned to his tea and then stood by a window, watching as the man in green disappeared off into the trees. Only when he was content that Dream was gone did he go upstairs. He opened Tommy's door first and found the bedroom just a little bit messy, but no kid alone in there. He looked under the bed, in the closet, and then he heard the sound of things in his room moving. He opened the door and walked in to find Tommy crawling out from under his bed, boxes pushed out of the way.

Tommy's face was pale and his hands shook as he got up off the ground. Techno stood in the doorway for a moment and then he unclipped his cloak and leaned down, wrapping it around Tommy. "You're safe. You're safe, Tommy. Dream isn't going to find you."

And for the first time, Techno watched Tommy cry silently. Techno picked him up, gently moving him to his own bed. He set him down, leaving him there in the cloak. Then he went downstairs and grabbed some apples out of the fridge and brought them up for Tommy along with a book for himself. And the two sat together, quiet and still for a while. Tommy bundled up in the cloak trying to think away the nightmares that had been so close to being a reality. Techno at the foot of the bed, back to the wall with the book in his hand. There would be time for revenge another day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm making up for not posting for a bit with a longer chapter. Life got hectic and I'm doing this just in what spare time I have. Back into some canon things with some things I wish would have happened. More things to come.


	7. Chapter 7

When he woke up again, it was because a bird was tapping on his window. He sat up and looked around. The day had passed him by and he was still exhausted. There was still time that he wanted to spend sleeping, but if the bird had come up here, it was important. Techno opened the window, letting the bird come sit on the edge of his desk. The note that had been curled around its ankle was short, just a couple of words long, but when Techno read it, he froze in place.

_"I'm next."_

There wasn't anything else, nothing even done with invisible ink. That was the whole message. Techno didn't even give the bird a reply, he just sent it back on its way. And then he sat in his bed for a long moment, running his hand through his hair. What could he do? He could get Phil out of there ahead of schedule. Techno stood up and walked out of his room and down the stairs. He found Tommy sitting in the living room, staring at the front door, but he didn't pause to ask questions about what the kid was doing. Instead, he pulled out the notebook of plans that he had.

"You're up, Techno?" Tommy asked, never taking his eyes off the door.

"You were having nightmares. I couldn't sleep while you were sleeping until the morning." Techno didn't look up, didn't catch the pained expression on Tommy's face. "But we have bigger problems than my lack of sleep. Phil's in danger. I'm guessing from the context that the people in L'manberg are considering getting rid of him. They probably see him just as a danger now. And I can't let them kill my friend. We're going to L'manberg tomorrow. The two of us are going to go in, we're going to get my weapons, and then we're going to make sure that Phil can get out of the country."

"Tubbo would never-"

"Tubbo already put Phil under house arrest and was testing his nerves last I heard. Whether or not it was Tubbo directly doesn't matter, Tubbo is allowing this to happen." Techno looked up, his hands twitching like he was about to slam the table.

"But he wouldn't..." Tommy faltered.

"Tubbo tried to execute me, Tommy," Techno snapped, his hand finally hitting the table. "I know he was your friend, but he's threatening my friend now. And it's not just with exile. It's with killing him."

"H-he..." Tommy turned away from Techno, turning his attention to the door again like Dream was going to walk through it.

"Dream's not going to hurt you here, but if you get in the way of me saving Phil, I may think twice about whatever tentative agreement we have to help each other. So what is it, Tommy? Are you going to help me get back my things and save Phil or are you going to sit here and think too hard about the situation that you got yourself into for far too long?"

"I said I would help, big man," Tommy finally said, standing up. He turned his back on the door, but Techno could see the tenseness in his shoulders. "Maybe I can kill two birds with one stone- That was the wrong phrase to use. Maybe I can help you and convince Tubbo that what he's doing is wrong. Maybe he can change his things up so that he's not putting you or good ol' Dadza in danger. Maybe he'll be enough on my side that I won't have to worry about the disc that he has."

Techno was silent for a moment. He wanted to bark out that even if Tubbo could change his mind, there were too many people that were against them now. But he didn't. He didn't know why he didn't. He hadn't hesitated to tell Tommy the truth in the past, but this time he was hesitating. "We're leaving at dawn tomorrow morning, Tommy," Techno said. "Whatever you're grappling with, I need you to be on your A-game." Techno stood up and walked over to his chests, looking through it. There were things in here that he had collected and kept, but hadn't used. He started setting aside the things that they would need for the next day, the armor that Tommy was going to wear was ready for him, waiting in that chest.

"Right," Tommy said. "But I'm constantly on my A-game, so you've got nothing to worry about."

Techno looked over his shoulder at Tommy who was pretending to be his old self. Techno let his eyes slid to the door and he saw Tommy flinch out of the corner of his eye. Techno turned around with a turtle helmet in his hand and put it on Tommy's head. "Try to not flinch when I look at the door," Techno murmured. "You're safe. Dream's not going to do anything to you. If he does, I'll make sure he pays. So really get your A-game together for tomorrow morning and get sleep tonight."

Tommy nods, looking up at Techno. "Is this helmet mine now?"

"Sure. It looked ridiculous on me, the sizing was wrong."

"I want to see that, put on the helmet." Tommy tugged the helmet off and then he held it out to Techno. Techno looked at him for a moment and then took the helmet and put it on his own head. Tommy couldn't help but bark out a laugh. The helmet fell in such a way that it almost completely covered techno's eyes.

"I can't see, Tommy. This helmet may protect my head, but I can't tell where I'm going." Techno tried to tilt his head so he could see down under the brim of the helmet. And that just made Tommy laugh harder.

"Can we have baked potatoes or something tonight, to make sure that we're prepared for a day of doing work tomorrow?" Tommy asked after Techno had put the helmet back on him.

Techno paused. "Did you not eat anything but apples today?"

"I will not confirm or deny, but I will say that I like it when you make baked potatoes."

Techno shook his head and turned on the oven and prepared a couple of potatoes before he pulled out things to put on top of the potatoes. Tommy pumped his fist in the air when saw Techno start cooking and he pulled a chair into the kitchen. "So the only disc I'm really worried about belongs to Dream. I know that he won't be there tomorrow, but I've been thinking about how I can even go about getting that disc back."

"Oh yeah?" Techno asked, pausing to look at Tommy with the knife in his hand. "Tell me about your brilliant plans to get the disc back from Dream."

"I don't think I can do it," Tommy said, "Not by myself. I'm going to need my friends on my side again and then we can all go after Dream together."

"There is power in numbers."

"Would you fight Dream for me, Techno?"

The question is met with silence. Techno continues to put toppings in bowls, thinking about the easiest way to answer this question.

"You can say no, Techno. I know that you're retired now, whatever the fuck that means for someone like you. But with you, we'd be unstoppable."

"I don't think I can call myself retired anymore with the way that they've dragged me back into things. Maybe one day I'll return to retired life, but for now, I'm involved. I'm out of retirement. But that's not what I'm thinking about. Dream is...going to be hard to deal with. And I don't need more attention on me right now. If the opportunity arises while we're causing chaos in L'manberg, I will do what I can to help you get your discs back."

That's enough to open the floodgates of Tommy's chatter and Techno half listens as he stands there in the kitchen. His body is still exhausted and he wants to go back to sleep, but he knows that food would be good. Techno watches the way that Tommy gets animated about the stories he's telling, the plans that he has for the future. The content of the talk doesn't matter, Tommy will change his mind in four hours and decide to do something else. But Techno stares at him and tries to remember what he was like at Tommy's age. Was he just as loud? Or is that just Tommy?

Techno grips the counter tight. Tommy's just a kid and he's talking about taking down major groups and thinking about the logistics of fighting someone that others would compare to a god. Techno feels pride at that, the way that Tommy is thinking ahead. But he stops himself. Normal kids shouldn't be thinking about that kind of thing.

When Phil is free, he'll have to ask Phil what he thinks of Tommy's situation and how to handle it. Techno can't do this without a helping hand, someone that understands having a kid, even if that kid turned out to be a little bit crazy and tried to destroy a country. The thought of Wilbur makes Techno look at the window, lost in thought. It's been a while since he's seen Ghostbur, he wondered what that ghost was off doing.

"And we built something next to the house today," Tommy was in the middle of saying.

Techno looked back at Tommy and raised an eyebrow. "You built what?"

"You weren't around, and Ghostbur wanted to hang out with me, so he and I started building something next door, a place for him and I to hang out. And I want to build a tower out in the field. I have some lava and if we do it right, I can make a really big tower with almost no effort."

Techno's eyes widened a little before they narrowed. "I told you no cobblestone towers."

"OH COME ON. Don't be a bitch, it'd look cool. Your cottage is all cozy and shit, but it doesn't have anything cool." Tommy sat back, slouching in his chair. His arms were crossed and he was mumbling.

Techno set down his knife and walked to the front door, intending to just take a cursory glance at what the two had made. It was ugly. It was too close to the house. Techno rubbed his face and then walked back in. "Where did Ghostbur go?"

"He said he had something to do and then he left with Friend."

Techno shook his head. That was a different problem that he could deal with later. "Tommy. You are ruinin' my property value," he said as he passed the kid. The timer that he set hadn't gone off yet, so he put some water in a kettle and got out some tea that wasn't going to keep him up. "And you're going to make it harder to hide."

"Yeah but I have you here to keep me safe. No one's going to touch me as long as we're on the same side. You're the Blade!"

Techno almost looked back at Tommy, but he didn't. He knew that he was grimacing. He was a weapon still, to Tommy, to the people from L'manberg that wanted him gone, maybe even to Dream. Instead, Techno was silent until the timer went off. He pulled out the potatoes and put two on a plate for Tommy. He fixed up his own and his mug of tea and then walked to the stairs. "Be ready to be up early." And then he was gone.

Tommy looked at Techno go and frowned. "I thought we were going to hang out," he muttered before he sat down at the table and got ready to eat on his own. "I'm going to build that cobblestone tower because you're being a BITCH, Techno!" There was no response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lil bit cathartic for me, a little bit moving forward the non-canon elements that I've been thinking about.
> 
> I'm really just spending a lot of time thinking about Tommy after exile, even now. I could write fluff about Techno and Tommy before doomsday for hours and hours and hours.


	8. Chapter 8

When Techno got up in the morning before dawn, he decided to take a quick walk outside to do a quick scout around his lands. He stared out at the field in front of his home and then followed the line of cobblestone into the sky. He rubbed his eyes and then continued on his way, getting ready to walk around the snowy area. He was ready to be done with this. He was ready to save Phil and get him out of harm's way. It was then that the damage could really be done to L'manberg. Phil's presence was the only thing keeping them safe at this point. The thought of destroying the country and getting his payback made something boil inside of his head. He tried to keep the thoughts of blood at bay, but it was so hard to keep it at bay knowing what they were going to be doing that day.

By the time he got back to the house, Tommy was awake and sitting in the kitchen downstairs. He was anxious when Techno opened the door and Techno just sighed when he walked in. "It's just me, I was just feeling...anxious this morning," he said. "So I did a lap around my property to make sure that everything was where it should be." He set his pickaxe and his mask down on the table and went to the kitchen and started pulling out apples to put into their bag for the day.

"You're anxious?"

Techno bobbed his head. He didn't turn away from his task. It was only when he had the bags of stuff on the table in the kitchen that he explained. "If you're thinking that I'm an unfeelin' bastard, you would be half right. I am an unfeelin' bastard on the outside, but I still deal with feelings. It's not like they just...don't exist for me. You know that I've felt rage before. But I've felt happiness and sadness and everything in between. How do you think it feels to know that my best friend in the world is in danger?"

"Wow big man, I didn't know we were going to be talking about our feelings today. Are you going to have this conversation with the people in L'manberg or are we going to take action?"

Techno laughed. "Tommy, you know that I'm a man of many languages. And by far my favorite is the one universal language..." Techno reached into the bag that he had prepared and he pulled out one of the blackened skulls that had been on the wall of the vault near his house. "...violence."

Tommy sat back a little, blinking. "A wither?"

"Yeah," Techno said, "As a threat. I need them to give me back my things. And they're not going to do it for nothing. Give me my weapons and let me kill this wither for them or I just let a wither destroy parts of their little country." Techno's eyes looked closely at Tommy's face. There was confusion and fear there. They were a mix of old feelings. But slowly that turned into something more mischievous.

"Alright big man, let's cause some chaos."

Techno grinned wider, genuine this time. And the voices in his head cheered. Because this was the start of something chaotic and the voices always demanded blood.

\---

Their trip through the nether was smoother than Techno had anticipated. And even when they made their way through the portal, there was no one there. It was then that they both drank the potions and tied the ribbons to their arms. Techno and Tommy walked quietly through the town, looking for the places that they were going to hit. And that's when they saw people walking this way and that. They hung back, hiding just out of sight.

"Change of plans, we're going to do this. I'm going to grab one of them and we're going to hold them hostage and start the conversation about getting back my weapons. Once they've started that, I'm going to let loose the wither and we're going to use that chaos to do a couple of things, you need to go talk to Phil, give him this knife, and then get out of the house." Techno had his hand on Tommy's arm, the magic was just starting to fade, it was the perfect time to do this in the order that he wanted.

Tommy looked at Techno, took the knife from him, and nodded. He tucked the knife away into his bag. Then he watched as Techno stalked forward with his pickaxe and grabbed the first person that he could. "Don't move unless I say so, Connor," Techno hissed, "Or I will make sure that this pickaxe gives you a painful, painful, possibly fatal wound." Connor nodded, silent. Tommy saw the other people still moving around. None of them had realized that Connor was captured yet.

Techno looked at Tommy and then at the crowds of other people. "Get their attention, Tommy."

Tommy grinned. Getting attention was one of the few things that he was good at. He took a deep breath. "HEY BITCHES OF L'MANBERG. THE BLADE IS HERE AND HE WANTS HIS WEAPONS BACK."

"Well that wasn't really how I thought you would go about it, but it works, I guess." Techno snorted and shook his head, but he kept the tip of the pickaxe at Connor's throat. He watched as one, two, three, four people turned around to look. Eret, Tubbo, Fundy, and Ranboo are the ones that start to move and Techno presses the edge of the pickaxe into Connor's throat. "You need to stay a healthy distance back."

But the only one that doesn't listen is Tubbo who takes one last step forward, looking directly at Tommy. "Tommy?"

Tommy is staring back, but he's silent. Techno pushes Connor forward and puts himself in the way of Tubbo's stare. "We're not here to catch up, Tubbo. I'm here to get my things back, the things that your goons took from me when you tried to execute me."

Tubbo stutters. "I don't-"

"Or I spill some blood. And listen, since you dragged me out of retirement, I've been itching to really spill some blood."

"You're in L'manberg, Techno," Fundy hissed, "You're on our land in full armor, threatening us and you think you can not only get away with it but get back things that were forfeited at your execution?"

"I do, Fundy. I do think I can get away with all that and more. I killed Quackity with this pickaxe and it isn't even my favorite pickaxe. I could kill Connor and you easily."

"I'll just uh...stay out of this," Eret said, hands up and backing away. "I don't really have anything to do with this besides...living near here."

"Fair, fair," Techno said, "Eret's safe. The rest of you? I will gladly destroy you to get back the weapons that were wrongfully taken from me."

Fundy was about to launch into another snarled comment when Tubbo put his hand on Fundy's shoulder. "Just go get the things, Fundy. Let's not...let's not spill any extra blood that we don't need to." Fundy stalked off and ran off to the houses to gather the things that he knew the locations of.

The group that was left behind stood in uncomfortable silence. Tommy peeked out around Techno and looked at Tubbo.

"Tommy, you're actually here and alive? You've been with...Techno?"

Tommy crossed his arms. "Yeah and? Techno's cool. You guys fucked up by messing with the Blade again. Besides you would know if I was alive if you had bothered to visit me in exile."

Techno flinched barely, mostly just his hand. It was easy enough to slip past the mistake by adjusting where the pickaxe was against Connor's throat. "You really did fuck this up, Tubbo," Techno said, "Listen I hate government, but your government...it's almost laughable how bad it has been lately. If your latest attempts at making the government work were to attack people like me, then I can't wait to see what you think will fix everything in the future. And I can't wait to ruin that for you too."

Tubbo flinched back at that. His eyes rested on Tommy for a moment. "I-I'm sorry I didn't visit you in exile, but I did go! And you weren't there. I thought-" Fundy was there at his side, arms full of weapons. Tubbo grabbed Fundy and pulled him back before he could step towards Techno "How do I know that you will just let Connor go and not try to kill him?"

"You'll have to take my word," Techno snarled, "But should you trust me? After what you did to me before and how you lied to me, I wouldn't trust a word that comes out of my mouth."

Tubbo stared hard at Techno. "You're right. I want you to let go of Connor and then we'll give you your things."

Techno didn't smile outwardly, but this was just the way that he had wanted things to play out. Tubbo was too scared to let Techno have his things, but he wanted to make sure that the people of his country were safe. He was putting on a brave face. "Set the weapons down and then I will let go of Connor."

"You're in my country, holding one of my citizens hostage. I'm not wearing armor. You don't need to make extra threats."

Techno stared at him and then released Connor. Connor ran past Fundy and Tubbo and stood a ways away. Techno held out his hand. "Give me my things, Fundy."

Tubbo straightened up and stood between Techno and Fundy. "You don't get your things back for threatening people here, Techno."

"So you've lied again, Tubbo. But that's okay. I figured that you wouldn't want to give up my things that easily. So let's try this again." Techno opened his bag and he pulled out some sand and skulls. "Give me my things now." He set all the sand down and placed the skulls on top of the piles. The skulls came to life and the creature grew out of the sand. The wither let out a rattling cry and then started looking around for what it wanted to destroy. Tubbo's eyes were wide and he looked at Techno, then Tommy. Tommy was shouting behind Techno, ready for the destruction that was coming. "Give me my things now and I'll save your precious country."

The wither rose up into the sky and fixed its sights on the country below. It let out a cry and then explosions rained down on the area below, destroying paths, threatening to set buildings on fire. It was smaller than other destruction that they had seen before, but everyone in L'manberg froze. No one was wearing armor. No one was ready for this. Fundy almost pushed past Tubbo to give Techno his things, but Tubbo stopped him again.

"Why do you keep doing this? Why do you keep coming back here and doing this to us?"

"I've only returned what I've been given in the first place. You betrayed me, I hit back. You tried to execute me, I hit back. There is a reason for everything I've done and you're blind if you can't see that. You're the worst president that this country has ever seen." Tubbo was too stunned by Techno's comment to do anything but stumble out of Fundy's way when Fundy ran forward and dumped Techno's weapons in front of him.

"Do something about that wither!" Fundy was yelling just as the explosions started again, getting close to the four of them. The others started to run away, Tommy included, Techno noted.

Techno grinned wildly and picked up his sword, his crossbow, his ax, his other pickaxe. The only thing that wasn't there was his trident, but he could fix that problem another day. These weapons were more than enough to make him feel a bit more comfortable with being here. He aimed his crossbow at the wither, firing once at it to get its attention. And then he was running at it. It came down to the ground, maws all open and terrifying. Techno did draw out the battle, let it destroy things a little more. And then he finally killed it. The thing disintegrated, leaving only a small crystal behind, which he pocketed before Fundy could run over and try to take it.

"Pleasure doing business with you, L'manberg," Techno said, tipping his mask just a little. He then walked back to Tommy and Tubbo who were still staring at each other. "But it's time for us to get going." And Techno slammed a potion onto the ground, engulfing him and Tommy with magic. The two of them ran, unable to see each other. Techno had had a hand on his shoulder when he smashed the potion and he tried to at least hold onto Tommy's arm as they ran. He pulled Tommy off of the main path and tucked the two of them away in a spot where no one would look.

"We're going to lie low for the moment, let them think that we're already gone before we leave," Techno whispered.

"Why? We could take all of those bitches out!"

"Because I don't feel like leading more people back to where my base is and I don't want to get in more of a fight. I got my weapons back. You got the knife to Phil, which means he'll have an easier time getting out. I don't need to do more today. And neither do you."

Tommy mumbled angrily, but the two of them sat quietly. Their invisibility wore off eventually, but Techno didn't bother reapplying it when they left the alcove and started walking again. Everyone that would have been looking for them had already gone back to the main part of the country and were talking loudly. Techno was certain that no one would be back near the portal looking for them at this rate. And even if they were, it would just be one person instead of the whole country.

But as they walked up the stairs, Techno didn't expect who he saw standing in front of the portal, arms crossed, leaning against the frame.

"Well, well, well," Dream said looking at the two of them, "I've been looking for you, Tommy. And Techno! I'm surprised. You seemed so sure that you hadn't seen Tommy when I came by."

Techno merely shrugged.

Tommy shrank back.

"Come on, Tommy," Dream said, stepping forward, "It's time that you and I went back to your exile. Time for you to start again." Dream's hand was out and close to Tommy when Techno pulled out his ax and stepped between the two.

"I'm sorry, Dream," Techno said, "But he's with me. We're...business partners and him going with you is just going to slow down the work that I am doing with him."

Dream stepped back, hands up. "That's quite the choice, Techno. Are you sure that you want to work with him?"

"Pretty sure. Unless you want to, I don't know, cash in on that favor?" Techno was almost laughing when he looked at Dream. Dream's face was a blank smile like it always was, but Techno was certain that he had pushed the buttons just the right way.

"What favor? What are you talking about?" Tommy sounded terrified and Techno's head whipped around to look at him.

"Don't worry," Techno said, almost too soft. He cleared his throat. "The adults are speaking." Then he looked forward at Dream.

"No, I'll...save my favor, Techno. I hope you don't regret this choice."

Techno shrugged again. "It's no business of yours in the first place. Now move out of the way so that we can be on our way."

Dream did step out of the way, moving himself over to one side. Then he tilted his head. "Good luck, Techno. You're going to be busy for a while, aren't you?"

Techno had already moved Tommy to the other side of him, keeping himself between Tommy and Dream. And when Dream spoke, Techno couldn't help but look closely at the man in the mask. "Don't worry about what I'm doing, Dream. Unless you want to help."

Dream didn't say anything about that and just turned his head away when Techno and Tommy walked forward. Tommy paused at the portal and stared at Dream.

"I used to think you were amazing or super powerful, Dream. But look at you being stopped by the mere presence of Technoblade. You're just a little bitch like the rest of them. And I'm not scared of you."

Dream's mask faced Tommy, but Tommy didn't back down. "Alright," Dream said, "Anything else you want to shout while you have Technoblade between you and I?"

"I will get my disc back from you. I will make you pay." Techno grabbed Tommy's arm as he started yelling and pulled him through the portal. On the other side, the hot air felt like it was too much. Techno walked ahead of Tommy. Tommy looked back at the portal. One of the last times he had been here at this portal, he had been told that he couldn't walk through it. He could just listen to old friends talk about what was on the other side. He looked back at Techno who had paused along the walkway.

"I stood up to Dream," Tommy shouted into the nether, getting the attention of some piglins that raised their weapons.

"Will you learn to shut up!?" Techno shouted as he provided cover for Tommy to run down the platform and away from the piglins, heading back home. "We don't need to get attacked here."

But Tommy wasn't listening. He felt weightless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have a ton to say this time. Just thanks for reading!
> 
> I've got some AU fics that I want to work on eventually, but I'm thinking that I need to find the end of the fics that I have right now because I get too invested in anything new. We'll see if I hold myself to that lmao


	9. Chapter 9

Techno didn't care that there were things to do to push towards his goals with L'manberg at the moment. He was just happy to be home again. He knew he loved this place already, but after seeing L'manberg again, he realized just how much he had come to love this place. He was content to even just sit in the kitchen with a book and ignore the antics that Tommy was getting up to the day after they had gotten his weapons back.

"Don't mind me, Blade, I'm just going to grab some things and then _I won't_ building a better cobble tower out there," Tommy said as he disappeared into the basement. The sound of chests opening, crafting, and laughter bubbled up to the first floor, but they barely registered to Techno.

That was the name that he didn't want to hear. He put the book down on the counter and huffed. "He's just a kid. He's just a kid," Techno reminded himself. "He knows that you're not just a weapon." But the words felt wrong in his mouth like he was lying to himself. His mind raced with the number of times that he had been called that before he had been used against people, turned into a weapon of a person to be used. Shaking off the thoughts, he went to the window to look outside at what Tommy was doing. The kid wasn't afraid anymore, not in the same ways or to the same extent, at least. He hadn't flinched When Techno had gone to the door in the morning. He was full of spirit and getting louder every day. And even if it was annoying to Techno, it was a relief to hear him be that loud again, almost like they were back in Pogtopia.

Techno stepped to the door and grabbed his cloak. He put it on and walked outside with his weapons strapped to him and his armor on. He was always going to be cautious now. The number of people that knew where his home was worrying and he didn't feel like trying to have that fight without his armor on. And then he looked up at the tower that Tommy was working on. It was a precarious thing and it just kept going higher and higher.

"Is that safe?" Techno called up to where Tommy was standing on scaffolding and working on the build.

Tommy looked down at Techno. "Probably not, but what's life without a little risk! Don't be a bitch about my safety now, big man!" And then he just kept going.

Techno stood out there for a while, just watching. Even Tommy calling him just 'big man' felt better than the times that he had called him the Blade. It was dumb. It was just Tommy saying things. There wasn't that deep a meaning behind it.

Techno turned abruptly and went back inside. He didn't need to spend his time worrying about whatever this kid was saying. He could be brewing potions and getting materials ready for the next steps that he had in mind for L'manberg. He could be doing literally anything other than worrying what one kid thought of him.

Tommy watched Techno go back inside and then turned his attention back to the tower. "Acting all fucking weird and shit," Tommy mumbled under his breath. "I thought he was going to come out here and start talking about how I was 'ruinin' the property value; or some shit like that. Who's going to buy this house? No one would buy a house from Technoblade, they'd be too worried about bodies in the basement or something. Why would he even be worried about property value?" Tommy's jabbering continued on until the sun started to go down and it was then that he climbed down the scaffolding and made his way back into the house. His limbs were sore from making the tower, but he wasn't tired at all. He still had the energy to burn and Techno was sitting too quietly at the table with papers in front of him.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Tommy shouted. "Are you pouring over spreadsheets and lists when we've got to be thinking up new ways to get back at the people that tried to execute you?"

"I _am_ comin' up with plans for how to get back at them. I've had plans the whole time."

Tommy snatched one of the papers and a pencil. "First, we need to take you to cringe therapy. Because you are spending too much time on dumb things and not enough time on cool things." Tommy started scribbling on the paper, taking more than one attempt at spelling the words.

"Heh?"

"And then we'll build you a girlfriend. Because you seem to spend a lot of time alone out here and that's no good, big man. That's just no good."

"What the hell are you writing down on that list?" Techno leaned over and took the paper away from him, scowling. "This is an actual list that I needed to complete things from, Tommy."

"Boo, none of them are actually interesting or going to help you, big man," Tommy said and then he laughed. "So when are we doing any of these boring things on your list?"

"I've heard...that there's a festival coming up in the town. One of Phil's last messages told me that he was using the time that they were spending working on the festival to get out and come up this way. The festival is in a couple days, Phil will be up here before then. I have some plans that I want to bring to their festival, just a few friendly little things that I want to do. Nothing too big."

Tommy frowned. "The last time there was a festival there, things went wrong that time, too."

Techno sighed. "It's the best chance that I'll have to get into town to complete what I want to do. The point is for them to see it. I don't want no one to be there."

"That's true. If you're trying to send a message, then we're going to need people there to see the message. Why couldn't you do it right after the festival?"

Techno looked carefully at Tommy. The kid was honestly upset about this. He looked back down at his plans. "No one's going to get hurt," Techno said finally, "As long as they don't fuck around, no one's going to get hurt."

Tommy looked at Techno. "You're trying to get revenge for when they tried to execute you and you really think I'm going to believe that you're not going to hurt them? Come on, big man. You're Technoblade, the Blade! You're not made to sneak around, you're meant to cause a scene, we all know this. Superficial damage isn't going to get the message across. You could really go after Quackity or Fundy or..." Tommy's rambling continued on and on.

Techno balled up one of his hands into a fist. "Tommy."

"And I'm not saying that you should attack Niki, but she'll be there too." He was leaning back in the chair, looking up at the ceiling.

"Tommy."

"Also I think you could really scare people by going after Ranboo. That fucker's a giant compared to so many people and you could really-"

Techno pressed his hand against the table, flat and calm. And he tried to match his voice to that. "Tommy, you don't have to pretend to not know."

Tommy went silent, moving to look back down at the paper which contained schematics for explosives and how to position them to cause the most damage over the area that was L'manberg.

"I want to destroy L'manberg. For the last time," Techno said.

"Do you have to?" It was almost a whine.

"Does anyone have to do anything?" Techno sighed. "They came after me. They locked up Phil. They sent you to Exile with Dream, which you haven't talked about in great detail, just the same sets of details over and over, which makes me think that some terrible things went down that you're _tryin'_ to not talk about. L'manberg should've stayed gone after what Wilbur did. Phil's in on the plan. He and I are going to get rid of it once and for all."

"Phil?!" Tommy looks up suddenly. "But L'manberg was Wilbur's-"

"L'manberg and everything that happened there led to Phil having to _kill_ his son Wilbur, Tommy. Ask him yourself. He has been indifferent to it at best. And now that they tried to use him and locked him up in his own house, he's tired of it. They need to go."

"Tubbo's trying his best."

"Tubbo is barely the president. Quackity is holding a lot of the power. And Dream's been-"

Tommy's fists hit the table. and Techno paused to let Tommy process whatever rage he was feeling.

"Dream has been talking to Tubbo for weeks, maybe longer, trying to 'help' with the country, but my guess is that they're now just a part of whatever it is that Dream is planning."

Tommy didn't say anything for a long time. He was too busy looking down at the papers in front of him. "I helped build that place with Wil and so many others." It was a whisper.

Techno reached out and put his hand on Tommy's shoulder. "Sometimes the things we do are mistakes. And instead of letting the mistake fester, we have to put it down. Tommy, as long as you're working with me, I will do what I can to help you get back the discs. But if you're not willing to be committed now, then there's nothing more that I can do for you."

"So you were using me to help you do what you wanted without thinking about how I felt about it."

Techno huffed. "Tommy, did they visit you? Did they show that they cared? You've talked about that a lot. You were so alone. You got some letters, maybe a visitor or two for brief moments. But L'manberg exiled you and then turned around and started living their lives like you didn't exist. Why _don't_ you want them to burn?"

Tommy stood up, getting away from Techno. "They're still my friends."

Techno frowned. "In this world, I have known only two types of people, Tommy. Those that want to use me for my power and those that want to destroy me. And I don't have anythin' against either of those parties most of the time. You've been both of them to me. But I'm willing to make an exception for you this time, Tommy, and be your friend now. You're strugglin' and you have been since you got here. I'll do everything I can to get your discs if you're willin' to fight with me, not against me. Come with us, the day of the festival, and help us get rid of L'manberg once and for all. You'll be free to get your discs -- with our help, of course -- and then live whatever life you want."

"Why would you offer that?"

"Because of the way I found you in my house, the way you were afraid when Dream was here. I'm a person, I feel things. And seeing you that scared, that hurt, it just added to the fire. What's the point of L'manberg, if they let the people that fought for them suffer that kind of fate without attempting to do anything?"

Tommy stammered for a moment and then closed his mouth. It looked like he was in pain trying to think of a way to put his thoughts together.

"I don't expect you to come to a conclusion about the situation today. If you come with us to the festival, I'll take that as confirmation that you want to work with us. If you don't, then when Phil and I come back...please be gone. I'll take it as a sign that you just wanted me for my power and no offense, but my days of being used are over. I'm not just the Blade; my name is Technoblade and I'm a person, too."

Tommy looked at Techno and couldn't muster up any words. Tommy just let out a breath, nodded, and then walked up the stairs. Techno listened to the door close and then he picked up the paper that Tommy had scribbled on and put it back in the pile. "And if you stay where I can keep you safe, Tommy, I will remove Dream's chokehold on you. He'll have nothing left to hold over you." The words were whispers, things that he didn't feel right saying out loud, but he felt them all the same. He cared about Tommy. He just needed Tommy to see the situation the same way he did. And if Tommy could do that, then he could turn his attention somewhere else. Because whatever had happened to L'manberg, to Tommy, and even to Techno; it all led back to Dream, every single time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am feeling a lot of things about a lot of things that have happened recently in the lore and I just keep coming back to Tommy and Techno and things I wish could have happened. What's done is done, but they can't stop me from writing things that soothe my soul in my spare time.


	10. Chapter 10

The day that Phil made it to the house, Tommy didn't come down from his room. He watched from the windows and looked down at the entrance when Phil landed on the snow in front of the house. Techno was already out there, waiting. The two were talking and laughing immediately, greeting each other like this wasn't the place where they were going to plan a war against people that Tommy cared about. Tommy rubbed his eyes and then he sat down on the bed.

Tubbo had been...surprised that Tommy was there. And Tommy kept thinking back on the moment. It wasn't like he was surprised that Tommy was with Techno, but that Tommy was there at all. What had Tubbo thought about him? Had he just assumed that Tommy would die in exile? Tommy curled up tightly against the wall. He had thought that he was going to die in exile, so why wouldn't Tubbo think that? No, no, no. It wasn't right for him to dwell on those thoughts. He had gone through this already. He was alive, he deserved to be alive, and he was going to keep living. He needed to figure out whether or not he was going to follow Techno and Phil into battle or go out and try to help the people that he had fought with for L'manberg.

Well, he had done a lot for them already and it definitely felt like they didn't care. No one really came to visit him, just some messages from some people, some presents, small things that were appreciated, but they weren't much. And then there was Dream. Dream who had trapped him there. Dream who had done terrible things to him. Dream who pretended to be his friend and then turned around destroyed things. Dream who didn't really seem to care when he saw Tommy. That's right. Dream hadn't even mentioned that he wanted to see his friend again. He had just wanted Tommy back away from the rest of everyone else. He wanted Tommy in a place where he could control him. And he had been working with Tubbo?

Tommy let out a huff. There were too many pieces and he wasn't a man of puzzling out things, he was a man of action. But what action could show him how things were supposed to go?

All of his thoughts were piling up and then there was a knock on his door. Tommy's attention snapped to the door as it pushed open. "What the fuck do you want?"

"Aye, mate," Phil said as he pushed the door open further, "No need to act like an angry child. I'm not here to scold you or anything, just saying hi."

"Hi Philza," Tommy said with a weak wave, "Now go away, I'm busy."

"Busy with what?" Phil walked into the room, looking at the things that Tommy had filled the room with, things that he had collected from outside, the armor that Techno had given him.

"Busy thinking about serious shit that doesn't involve you."

"Busy thinking about the offer that Techno gave you for the festival in two days, eh?" Phil looked back at Tommy and Tommy stiffened.

"Don't try to convince me to listen to you just because Tubbo put you under house arrest." Tommy's comment was muttered.

"It's not because of Tubbo that I would say that you should help us get rid of L'manberg," Phil said, "Honestly I would say that you should think about Wilbur."

The mention of the dead man made Tommy freeze. "Why would you bring him up?"

"Because he wanted it gone too. I think he saw it before the rest of us. I think he went about it the right way, but it just wasn't enough. You guys were resilient mother fuckers and you bounced back and made that country even more. But let's talk about what it led to. You got sent away and were forced into exile by Dream."

Tommy drew his knees up and hugged his legs. "I don't want to talk about my exile with you, Phil."

"You won't shut up about parts of it to Techno, so why won't you talk about it to me? Is it because I'll ask questions and not just nod vacantly while listening to you? Is it because I'll ask more about what Dream did to you? About what Tubbo let happen to you?"

Tommy flinched. "He didn't know that-"

"He sent you away with Dream willingly. He set aside the feelings he had for you as a friend and did he visit you?"

"No, but he's president! He was probably busy and didn't have the time to come out and see me."

"Tubbo had the time. He could've let Quackity handle the country for an afternoon to see his 'best friend' in the whole world. But he didn't make the time for you. And I think by the time he did, you had already left."

Tommy looked at Phil's face. "He went?"

"I can't confirm, but I did see him leave one evening, go out that way, then come back looking sick. How'd Dream leave the place where you had been exiled?"

Tommy looked down. He didn't want to talk about that, didn't want to revisit everything that he had gone through. "Philza, I would like to be left alone. You've made your point. Tubbo didn't visit me. People didn't come to see me. And so what? I'm fucking annoying. I know it. I don't blame them for not coming and seeing me at a time like that. I deserved to be that far away from every-"

"Tommy. You didn't deserve to be exiled for L'manberg. You're annoying sometimes, sure. You're a kid, you're allowed to be annoying. You gave up your discs for L'manberg before. Wilbur wrote to me about it. You did so much for L'manberg and they turned around and sent you away. No one deserves that." Phil stepped into the room and he sat on the bed. "I'm not saying that Techno is a ray of sunshine, but he does care about you. Whatever you decide, we'll respect that." Phil offered Tommy his arm, his wings were swept back so that they were ready to wrap around Tommy.

Tommy hesitated and then he moved to accept the side hug from Phil. Phil's wing wrapped around Tommy, adding an extra layer of comfort and the two sat there in silence, just existing together for the moment.

\---

Phil walked downstairs to find Techno laying out his supplies, looking carefully at everything that he had and comparing it to the list of things that he still needed to get. Techno didn't look up from his work, but he did let his pen pause in the things that he was writing.

"Kid's definitely been fucked up by whatever happened with Dream," Phil sighed as he stood next to Techno, "He won't talk about it, but based on the way he keeps trying to gloss over some of it, it's got to be bad."

The pencil in Techno's hand audibly cracked and Phil paused to look at Techno's face. There was just fury in his eyes. "If I see Dream again, I will cut his throat," Techno muttered, "I will gut him and I will destroy him. There was a time, Phil, when I thought of Dream as someone that I could be neutral about. We'd work together when convenient, clash when it wasn't. But he's..." The breath that he took was shuddering with anger. "He's proving to be worse than I thought."

"One problem at a time," Phil said, "Let's start with L'manberg. If we break that apart, we'll be able to get to Dream more easily. He's obviously been manipulating them. I think he might have pushed them to try and attack you, played the pieces so that he would be able to call on a favor from you."

Techno slammed his fist on the table. "I got played like a fool. I'm an idiot for listenin' to him. I should have paid more attention to L'manberg while I was retired out here. Should have kept contact with someone in there so that I could have known more about what was goin' on."

"Mate, it's not your fault," Phil said, "Who would have still wanted to talk to you after everything went down? You had made enemies of almost everyone."

Techno lifted his hand up. "I just need Tommy to listen now. I need him to see that this is just another one of Dream's games, but he's..."

"He loves his friends, even now. Even after they've shown that they didn't necessarily care about him the same amount." Phil nods before going toward the kitchen. "But he's just a kid. He's not going to be logical all the time."

Techno sighed and followed Phil toward the kitchen. "What else can we do?"

"Nothing. Let Tommy make his choice, keep working on your plans, show me what you need me to do to make sure that we get the result we need, and then we'll see where it goes. You're still acting in everyone's best interest if you get rid of L'manberg. After that, you can assess how you want to deal with Dream, if you want to deal with him at all."

Techno watched Phil pull out food from the fridge and start to cut up ingredients for some dish. He didn't say anything, just watched Phil cook. Once everything was at a point that Phil paused, Techno sighed. "I missed having you around, Phil. My head is so full of anger all the time and I forget that I can calm down and take a step back."

Phil laughed. "That's why we worked well together in the Antarctic Empire. I was the leveling agent to your naturally chaotic tendencies. Sometimes you need to step back and prepare better for the violence. And sometimes I need to be more willing to step forward and cause the violence." He flashed Techno a smile and then nodded his head back towards the main stairs. "Can you go knock on Tommy's door and tell him that food will be ready?"

Techno nodded and walked out of the room, walked past his piles of things and his list. He turned his attention to the stairs and he paused before he walked up. He wanted to try to talk to Tommy, but he was afraid that Tommy wasn't going to open the door. But he sucked up that feeling and walked upstairs. He knocked on the door and waited. When Tommy didn't come to the door, he sighed. "Phil said that food's going to be ready soon," Techno said through the door, "So come down in a bit to eat with us."

Techno hovered at the door and he didn't leave until he heard a quiet response. "Alright." It was all that Tommy offered him. He still paused there, thinking about how he wanted to say something, wanted to just be upfront with Tommy about the things that he knew and what he was trying to do. But he shook his head. The voices bouncing around in his head told him that he was being soft, weak, worthless. And he knew that he wasn't. Tommy had betrayed him and even now, with all the cards out in front of him, Tommy wasn't picking the side of people that would protect him. But whatever Tommy had done before, the trauma of exile was trumping any personal feelings Techno had. No kid should be treated like that. No kid should be manipulated like that. And yet here was Tommy, obviously manipulated.

Techno walked back into the kitchen. "What about Tubbo?" Techno said suddenly, "Tommy was exiled, no one was around to witness the blatant ways that Dream manipulated him, but what about Tubbo? If Dream was talking to L'manberg, he was talking to Tubbo. What did Dream tell Tubbo about the situation with Tommy? What lies did he tell? How has Dream destroyed both of these kids?"

Phil looked at Techno. "The best we can do, Techno, is to remove the toy from Dream's hands. And if he's manipulating Tubbo too, then getting L'manberg is going to make sure that we can get Tubbo out of there as well. But what brought that to mind?"

"Tubbo's a kid too," Techno said.

"You've gotten soft in your retirement," Phil laughed.

"I've always had feelings, Phil. I've just stopped putting them away for the sake of a fight."

Phil nodded. "Then tomorrow, let's make sure that we go over how this can protect those that deserve to be protected."

\---

Dinner had been a quiet time, Tommy seemed anxious and jumpy and Phil didn't push anything. He let Techno sit in his silence. He let Tommy fidget with his food for a while. Eventually, all three of them had eaten and Tommy slipped away again. When Tommy went up the stairs and they heard the door closed, Techno just shook his head and went back to his things in the living room. Armor, weapons, explosives, tons of things that he could use to destroy L'manberg once and for all. There wasn't time to plant the TNT, no need to stage a show. Techno already had plans to destroy the country violently, out in the open. There was just one more day that L'manberg was going to be whole. Techno reached into the pile of potions and pulled out an invisibility potion. He wanted to do one last scout of the area the next day, just to make sure that everything was still going as he expected.

But that would be risky.

Techno shook his head. He would just let it go. They wouldn't see his plan coming. He could do it without the extra checks. He could live up to everyone's violent expectations of him for the moment and he would make sure that everything was destroyed so far that no one would be able to get through to remaking it again. It would destroy Tommy to see that, but it was better that he watched L'manberg burn down than for him to still be trying to fix something that needed to stay gone. He could get over the loss of a country that didn't care about him. But if things kept on this path, the violence and destruction would just keep escalating, keep getting worse. Techno rubbed his face thinking about the plan.

Phil stood in the kitchen, watching Techno agonize over what he was about to do and everything that he was trying to prepare. This wasn't going to be an easy job. Even if the plan was straightforward and it was likely that more people than not would be willing to back away from L'manberg, there was a lot of danger behind this mission that they were about to go on. But it would be gone and then maybe everyone in L'manberg would be able to move on and find a way to live their lives more peacefully. Maybe one day, they'd stop trusting Dream as much as they do. Dream has been playing games with people for as long as Phil has been watching.

No one is immune. Not even him. Wilbur's death, the memory of his sword going through Wilbur, rang in his head, more tragic than before.

\---

The next morning, Techno was still in the living room, still staring at the piles of supplies that he was going to have to take into L'manberg. He starts packing up some of the stuff and then he looked at the bags that he had everything tucked away into. Magic bags that could hold more than the space they seemed to take up were amazing. Bags of holding, he'd heard some people call them. Inventory, others called them. Techno didn't call the bags anything more than what they were: bags.

It would be reasonable enough for him to carry that much, even if Phil and Tommy didn't come with him. He didn't look at the stairs, but gripped the table, hoping that Tommy would come down now. It was still too early for him to be awake normally and Techno wasn't going to knock on his door. Phil wasn't downstairs either, but Techno wasn't going to ask Phil to be awake right now. Techno picked up one of the spare bags that he had and he walked out of the house into the early morning air. It was so early that the sun was barely up. Techno got to the cliff wall and opened it. He walked along the wall, pulling down skull after skull after skull until there was just a small display at the far end of the hall. He packed up sand to perform the summoning and when he had more than enough in the bag, he walked back out and closed the door behind him. He could destroy with withers alone. If he and Phil summoned enough, the city wouldn't be able to survive. People would have to flee.

Techno walked back into the house and he found Phil standing in the kitchen, cooking. It was expected. This was how Phil was going to deal with the stress of the moment. Techno couldn't pretend to understand. L'manberg had taken so much from Phil and he was always smiling so brightly despite it. This was going to be a day of darkness for L'manberg and Phil would bring it to them. Techno's violence on the other hand wasn't just about getting revenge but telling them something. Violence was the only language that he thought would get through to them anymore and this was his shouting. This would be the end of the conversation that he had been having with them for a long, long time.

Techno and Phil remained in silence. Techno looked at the stairs, but he didn't say anything, didn't ask any questions. Phil didn't offer any hope, any advice on how to deal with everything that was going on. They ate in silence, leaving a plate ready for Tommy if he came down in time. Then Phil and Techno quietly went over the notes for the day, making sure that they were both on the same page for everything. And then it was time. Time for them to start moving. No Tommy to be seen. Techno didn't say a word as he put on his mask and his cloak. He didn't look to Phil for support. Even if Tommy didn't come, he was going to make sure that Dream paid for using all of them in whatever game he was playing.

And even if Tommy never spoke to him again, as long as Dream was gone, he would be satisfied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was a time to write. I hope you guys enjoy it.


	11. Chapter 11

Phil and Techno were at the portal to leave the frozen tundra and head into the nether when they heard shouting behind them. Techno was the one that paused. Phil was ready to head through the portal, move on whether or not Tommy was ready to follow along. Techno stood frozen to the spot in front of the portal, his eyes fixed on the horizon. And when he saw that Tommy was running after them, his armor on and a weapon in his hand, Techno couldn't help the smile that came over his face.

"You bitches didn't even come to see if I was going to wake up and you fucking tried to leave without me," Tommy said as he approached the portal, half out of breath. "You're both terrible for that bullshit."

"So you're coming with us?" Techno asked as he looked down at Tommy.

"Of course I'm coming with you. I'm not letting you do something dumb. There...there has to be a way to do this without violence. That was what L'manberg was about. We used our words instead of violence. maybe they'll still listen to me."

Techno shrugged his shoulders and then he reached into the bags, looking for the spare invisibility potion that he had set aside, just in case Tommy had come running out of the house at the last minute. Tommy took it and pocketed it and didn't think about drinking it until they were through the portal. There, invisible, they were greeted by an interesting sight. The community center, a place that had been built very early on, was...gone. There was simply nothing left of it except for the charred remains of the paths that lead into and out of it.

And there in the middle of that destruction stood Dream.

"Tommy's gone too far this time," Dream shouted, "I know that some of you have seen him since he escaped his exile. So I need you to tell me where he is, right now."

Tommy stepped forward. "Destroyed...?"

Techno grabbed Tommy's arm and dragged him back when he tried to take any more steps. "Don't get close to them."

"I saw him with Techno," Connor said, "Or really they saw me and they tied me up so I couldn't do anything. They used me to barter for Techno's things."

There was a murmur through the crowd at that revelation, but Techno had all of his attention focused on Tommy's face.

"We need to find Tommy and Techno and put a stop to their reign of terror on this server. The two of them have always caused nothing but destruction, everywhere they go and I'm honestly sick of the two of them doing this."

Techno held Tommy's arm tighter, but then he was gone, escaped his prison. And when Techno saw the armor moved so that the skin that didn't touch the potion, he knew that they were out of chances to get out of there safely.

"I didn't do this!" Tommy shouted as he reversed some of his armor to show that he was a real person. The others could walk forward and touch him. There was no ghost this time. Someone flung milk at him, which he flinched from, but it removed the magic all the same. Techno on the other side of the platform wrung his hands for a moment before he took a bottle of milk and drank it. Instead of the sudden view of Tommy that had just happened, the group was faced with a Techno that slowly came into view, mask and all.

"This wasn't the smartest move, Tommy," Techno said out loud, not bothering to try and whisper. He didn't care who heard him. "It's like 20 versus 2. And I'm up for that fight, but are you?"

"Tommy has caused problems for us for the last time. This was supposed to be a peaceful gathering today and instead, we have Tommy and Techno, two people who shouldn't even be anywhere near her, not only showing up at this time of chaos, but they've destroyed one of the oldest buildings here. How are you guys going to let that go? How are you going to let this keep happening?" Dream was standing on top of a couple pieces of wood that he had put down so that he could be in the middle. "I say that we get rid of them."

"But I didn't-" Tommy started to speak.

"Why are you so certain that Tommy did this?" Tubbo asked. The question was for Dream, but the whole time that he was asking it, his attention was turned on Tommy who was standing in the middle of the chaos.

"Who else would have done this?" Dream crossed his arms. "Anyone else have a problem with me or the longer-term residents of this area?"

The area was dead silent until Techno cleared his throat. "Hate to break it to everyone, but it couldn't have been Tommy. He hasn't been out this way in a while."

"Oh, and what do you know, Techno?" Dream had turned his attention to the other intruder.

"I know where he's been living for the last week, so if that doesn't qualify me for knowing where the kid has been, then I don't know what will qualify anyone to talk about this situation." 

"And you're not the one that did this?"

"My problems are with L'manberg, not you. Why would I bother destroying something that mattered to you?" Techno snorted and rolled his eyes.

Tubbo's eyes were still on Tommy, but Tommy didn't know where to look. Everywhere that he turned his head was just disappointed look after disappointed look. Tommy took a step backward, gripping the sword he had in his hands like it was the only thing keeping him tethered to the current world.

"It's weird, Techno," Dream said, "After everything, I would have thought that you would have given up on Tommy by this point. He's not useful. He breaks things. How do you put up with it?"

Techno was silent. That just made Tommy's head spiral more.

"So what's the solution, Dream?" Tubbo asked. "You say that it's Tommy, but Techno says otherwise. How are you going to figure out who did this?"

"We don't need to figure anything out. Are any of you really believing Techno and Tommy? Those two have betrayed or fought against almost every single one of you. And they're just pests at this point. Philza too. We can get rid of them once and for all if we work together. The only thing that it will cost you is that disc of his, Tubbo." Dream held his hand out to Tubbo and then he turned his head to Tommy. "Won't this be amazing? You'll see the disc for the first time in forever."

Tommy held onto his weapon tightly and then he looked at Tubbo. "Are you going to give in to Dream? After everything that he's done to us, after everything that he's tried to do?"

Tubbo looked back at Dream and then past Tommy at Techno. Both masked men were impossible to read and the gathered people were all murmuring, all discussing the possibility of war that they were all standing on right now. Some people were backing away to the edges of the circle. There were only a handful of people that were going to participate, the people closest to Dream, the people that still loved L'manberg with their whole hearts. And Tommy wanted to protect L'manberg, but was this the price? This had stopped them from destroying it for the moment, but would it last?

Tommy glanced at Techno and Phil, but both of them were still and staring hard at the scene unfolding before them. Both of them had their hands on their weapons, ready to strike out at any moment, but there was a measure of calmness to them. They knew it was coming, Tommy realized. They were coming here to destroy a country, they were expecting some sort of retaliation like this, no matter what the day had looked like.

Tommy looked forward at Tubbo and Dream. Tubbo had set down a chest but didn't seem to really want to get out the disc.

"Just do it, Tubbo," Quackity said from his side, "If we have Dream actually on our side, then it won't take much to get rid of the people that would get in the way of L'manberg being whole."

Tubbo looked at Quackity, then at Tommy. And there was only sorrow in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Tommy," Tubbo mouthed before he pulled out the disc and held it out to Dream. It wavered in the air while Tubbo's hands shook. And then it was in Dream's possession.

"So that's it, Tubbo," Tommy said, "You're making me pay the price for L'manberg _again_. Well, then I guess it's a good thing that I don't care about L'manberg. All I care about are those discs." Tubbo flinched and Techno's head tilted. "I'm going to fight you Dream and I'm going to get both of _my_ discs back."

Dream let out a laugh. "It's you against this army," Dream said, waving his hand at the people that were still gathered there. "For once, the whole server is together for this and we have you to thank Tommy. You did this. You finally brought them all together. And we'll be taking your final life." Dream's hand in the air dropped and Sapnap and Punz surged forward out of the crowd, both of them going after Tommy. Tommy was frozen to the spot. Tubbo was shouting. But in the noise and chaos, Techno stepped forward, quickly batting away both attacks.

"Get back to the portal, Tommy," Techno said, "Go back to the house. Phil and I will do what damage we can here and then we'll be back."

Tommy shook his head. "If you're fighting here, then so am I."

Techno looked carefully at Tommy and then pulled his ax out of the holster it was in. "Take the Axe of Peace, then," Techno said, "But if you lose it, I'm making you make me a new one."

"Deal, big man," Tommy said with a grin before he slipped around Techno and ran at Sapnap. Punz turned his attention to Techno, who let out a snarl. This was a battle with purpose. They were going to have a nice little chat about what they were doing here and maybe Punz would realize that not even money could buy him when it came to this kind of fight. Punz didn't stop attacking, but there was a look on his face, the glances to see where Dream was and what he was doing that told Techno enough about the relationship that they had.

Behind them, Philza was standing on top of a platform, sand and skulls in his hands. He threw them down, carefully summoning several withers at once. The sound of their cries made Techno pause, track where Tommy was, and move that way. They were going to drag these withers through the town. Techno pulled out his crossbow and launched arrows into the faces of the withers, dragging their attention away from the ruins of the community center and down the path into the center of L'manberg. The community was following, some of them trying to just go after Techno. Others were trying to just remove the Withers from the sky, but Phil was faster, adding two where one fell.

By the time they made it to L'manberg, Techno felt his hands reaching for the bag with the explosives. He wanted to destroy this place, once and for all. But the withers were too close and there was only so much that he was going to be able to do with them hot on his heels like this. He threw down potions, shrouding himself in magic before he met the forces that were running at him head-on. Techno spoke no words, but the people that fought him could hear him clear as day.

_"The place that betrayed me, then sought to destroy me will not win this day."_

But there was another conversation, one that was happening with words that was still near the community center. "Tommy you have got to stop. Step down, just stop this," Tubbo said, half crying.

"You didn't come to visit me, Tubbo. None of you did. Even if I was at fault, how could all of you leave me alone with..." His eyes drifted to the masked man in the hoodie that was standing quietly off to the side, watching the two of them argue like this.

Tubbo and Tommy were ax to ax. They weren't going to be able to beat each other like this, but they needed the time.

"I wanted to! I tried to later! But you were...already gone. And I feared the worst."

"The worst was what happened. If I had lost my last life there, then that would've been mercy," Tommy said, "Because you left me at the mercy of that green bastard over there. And he-"

Dream's ax entered the fray, slamming down and causing the two fighters to finally fall apart. "Now, now, Tommy. That's not nice. I thought that the two of us were friends. I thought I had become your best friend during that exile. And Tubbo...he's always been your best friend. How terrible of a person are you for fighting both of us and joining forces with Techno of all people."

Dream stood there for a moment before he pulled his ax up and out of the ground, twirling it and readying it for another attack. Tommy had his own weapon raised in defense. But Tubbo had dropped his ax, staring at both Dream and Tommy, trying to figure out where things had gone wrong, where their friendships had all fallen apart.

"You aren't my friend, Dream," Tommy spat out. "You're a sick fuck."

"And you think that Techno is your friend? He didn't really visit you either. He stopped by and laughed at your pain once upon a time." Dream's words are harsh and Tommy recognizes them. But Techno didn't know. He hadn't known what was happening when he wasn't there. And when he had shown up at Techno's cottage...that had been kindness that Techno had shown him, right?

"You're thinking about it now. Did he give you things? Did he promise to help you? He's promised me help. So you're not special. You and I are the same to him."

Tommy held onto his ax, preparing to strike out at the man in front of him. "You're wrong about Techno, he's a decent person. He's...got his own set of rules, but he's a decent person and he knows what he's doing."

"He's attacking all the people that you once thought were your friends, Tommy. Look at them." Dream stepped back, gesturing his ax at the fighting that was happening, the monsters across the landscape. "Is this what you're fine with your friends doing?"

Tommy lowered his ax and looked out at the destruction and the carnage. People were screaming, running in different directions. L'manberg was still there behind it all, craters dotting the landscape from the withers, but everything was still there. But the people. They were running in fear from Techno who was dragging them back into fights.

This...wasn't what he wanted. He wanted the place gone, not the people. And even as he watched people willingly turn back and face Techno head-on, he could see the fear in their stances. This wasn't what they wanted. This wasn't what they were expecting.

"I could end this now, Tommy," Dream said, "I could bring everyone together finally as one big happy family. And you can be part of that family too, but you have to promise to stop fighting."

"You can't stop Techno," Tommy muttered.

"No, but Philza's not paying attention to his left side. And I could kill him, drive Techno into a fury where he chases me until I trap him and keep him safe and sound on his own. And then there would be no more Blade. And we could all be happier, we could all be so happy together as a giant family here, Tommy. That's all I've ever wanted for everyone."

And for a moment, Tommy could imagine that peaceful future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't do a lot of proofreading on this one, so I hope it's good. Thanks again for reading. I'm really just going through a lot of emotions writing this fic.


	12. Chapter 12

Techno stood in the middle of the destruction that he had caused, watching houses burn, pieces of them falling to the ground. When people rushed forward to try and salvage their homes, that's when Techno stepped back in, baiting the withers to come forward and destroy the houses a little bit more. People shouted at him, tried to get him away, tried to get rid of the withers, but as soon as they killed one, Phil summoned three more. Techno grinned behind his mask at them. The people of L'manberg all knew what they were doing when they got on his bad side the first time. He had told them what he thought of their government and how there was a better way. They had continued to place their trust in a government that didn't care about them and look where it had gotten them: on the bad side of a former ally.

"Techno you need to stop!" someone yelled.

"What did we do to you?!" another voice joined in.

"Your government tried to kill me," Techno said as his ax met the blade of someone else's sword. "And you thought that I would just go off into the distance and forgive it after everything I did for you?"

"We would have left you alone if you just hadn't messed with us."

Techno opened a bag on his hip and pulled out an explosive. "You've proved you will not." And then he lit the explosive and threw it into the crowd of people. From there, he couldn't tell who was who, but he knew that they were all people that he might have considered allies or maybe friends at one point. He doesn't hate them for what they've done, but they still need to pay for their crime of apathy. And how could they argue with him about that fact after their government decided to come after him after he was gone from the area? It would be hypocritical.

The explosion went off, the people scattering. A new hole in the ground was there now, deeper than some of the other craters that the Withers had scattered around the area. This wasn't the way that he wanted to do it, but he would take the opportunity.

He ran over to the hole and dumped out explosives there. And before anyone came after him, he darted away again, bow and arrows out in his hands. He turned around; the enchantments on the bow lighting the arrow on fire as soon as it was notched. And then with the precision of years of hunting like this, Techno fires the arrow. A deafening explosion echoes across the places and the smoke fills the area. Techno holds up his cloak to protect his face before the smoke and debris come for him. He looks back over his shoulder for Phil and Tommy. He finds Phil up in the air, out of the way of the blast. But Tommy he can't find immediately. Instead of continuing with the destruction, Techno darted back along the path, what's left of it anyways.

Dream was nowhere to be found either. Techno cursed under his breath. He thought that Tommy would be right behind him, thought he had seen him in the chaos. He wasn't doing what he promised.

Ax in hand, Techno makes his way back to the broken area, but can't find Tommy there either. Nowhere along the path. He doesn't linger there and runs back to the area where people are fighting to stop the carnage of the monsters. Phil has landed on the path, a ways away, and was watching as a tree caught on fire.

"Have you seen Dream and Tommy?" Techno asked.

"I was looking for you to tell you that I saw him and Dream standing on the other side of L'manberg, but you were gone."

Techno moved immediately, rushing past the burning tree and across the landscape to get to the other side of the crater where he finds Dream swinging his ax at Tommy.

"You think that this is going to end well, Tommy? You think that I'm going to let Techno and Phil go free even if they win this battle? You're a fucking idiot!" Dream shouted it out as he swung, each swung functioning as punctuation in his sentences.

"I think you're the idiot, Dream. You think that starting a war is going to bring everyone together? You're the one that's been tearing us apart like this!"

"You started it, Tommy. You brought chaos to the server and started the fights with me that spiraled out of control. You're the one that's ruined this place."

And the sentence made Tommy stumble. Techno saw it and moved quickly. It wasn't the need to attack that moved him, but to move in as a shield. He slid himself in the way of Dream's attack, taking the brunt of the blow. "I told you that this guy is with me, Dream. You need to learn when to stop playing these games."

"Techno! Buddy. Pal. Time to give me that favor that you owe me."

Techno barked out a laugh. "That was null and void when I realized that you had been playing both sides. Even this is what you wanted. You wanted them to fight with me. That's your favor. And after this, if I find you in my business, I will destroy you."

"Well then I'll just have to get rid of you," Dream snapped, his ax in the air for another attack. Techno dropped his crossbow to pull out the ax from his gear to meet Dream's attack head-on.

"Good luck with that. Tommy, find Phil," Techno said as he pushed Dream back further.

"I'm not going anywhere-"

"You are leavin' now or you are going to get killed," Techno growled. "Go find Phil and get to safety, Tommy. There will be time to fight another day. It's not your time to die."

Tommy hesitated again and then turned around and ran. Dream moved to try and get around Techno to go after him, but Techno slammed his ax into Dream's armor. "You're not going anywhere, green boy."

"And what are you going to do about me?"

"I'm goin' to beat you until you stop or you think better about what you're doing and let me leave of my own accord."

Dream's ax slams into Techno's arm, not making it through the armor, but the hit started a crack in the armor. "You're a fool if you think that I'm going to let you take Tommy and go."

"And you're a fool for thinkin' you could start this battle here and now. I will win, Dream, we've fought before. You're good, but I'm better."

Dream tried one more time to hit Techno, but Techno slipped away, letting the ax just slice through the air. Dream took the momentum and swung back around, doing what he could to try and land a hit on Techno. But Techno wasn't even swinging back.

"You look like an idiot, Dream, fightin' me like you think you know you can win. You aren't goin' to win. And you know why? Because I'm not going to let you."

"People call me cocky, but you're really the cocky one. You think you're god's gift to war. But you're not that either."

"As far as I'm concerned, Dream, we are two of a kind. Cocky about our abilities and right about it, but unfortunately for you, I never lose." Techno finally swung his ax again, aiming for Dream's side. Dream was fast enough to put up his shield but didn't anticipate the force behind the hit. He stumbled a little ways away from Techno. "If you want to lose, then keep goin'."

Dream didn't stop, didn't even attempt to step back. Instead, he sped forward and raised his weapon again. The clash was something that people could see from the ruins of L'manberg and some people did watch. Tommy and Phil were gone already, back towards the house that Techno had. Tommy had paused at the portal, looking back in the direction of the battle.

"He'll be alright, mate," Phil said, "But we've got things to take care of."

"He's the Blade, of course, he'll be okay," Tommy muttered before he turned and followed Phil through the portal. But both of them moved quickly, with no time to waste. And they needed to be ready for whatever state Techno came back them in.

It was true, Techno was doing just fine. As soon as the two of them were fighting, Techno felt at peace, calm, tranquil. There had been so much that he had been worrying about, thoughts that had been collecting in his head. But when they were fighting, he could just let all the thoughts go. There was just the fighting. That's all there was in his head. Even the voices that would normally demand blood were focused on the silent serenity of a good fight.

But then the moment was interrupted. Techno found the faces of others around him. He knew that they were against him. They didn't need to say it, didn't need to raise their weapons to make him think it. But he realized just how outnumbered he was during this battle. If all of them moved at once-

Dream's blade was at his throat.

"And here I was thinking that you were better than that. Getting distracted because there are people watching?"

Techno stood still. "Just countin' how many people will be left at the end of this." He didn't move a muscle. His weapon was at his side.

"Oh come on now," Dream said, "You can't seriously think that you're going to get away with anything right now, can you? There are so many of us and only one of you. You're powerful Techno, but you're not going to be able to take on-"

"Then kill me right now, Dream."

Dream tilted his head and looked at Techno. "You want me to-?"

"Kill me. Go for it. Try your hardest to destroy me where I stand," Techno said with a sneer. "You'll find it much more difficult than you're anticipatin'. And even with this many people on your side, you're not going to find this battle any easier."

Dream was about to move his weapon when he saw the explosive in Techno's hand.

"Didn't see this coming, now did you, Dream?" Techno grinned and dropped the explosive on the ground, pulling up his cloak and shield just in time to prevent the blast from causing too much damage to his own armor. But when he could see where he was running again, his cape was left in tatters behind him. And the people in L'manberg were left with another crater and the remaining ranks of withers.

Techno made it to the portal with little trouble. And he made it through the portal to his own base with even less trouble. No one was going to be looking for him for the moment. They were going to come later. And by then, he would be gone.

Techno ran across the landscape and slammed into the house. He was pleasantly surprised to find Phil there, already pulling everything out of the house that had any value at all. Tommy was standing off to the side, looking around at everything that Phil was doing. He met Techno's eyes.

"I was just...staying out of the way," Tommy said.

"Get anything from your room that you want, put it all into a bag. Don't leave it behind. If you leave it here, it will probably be burned."

Tommy's eyes went wide and then he was up in his room, tearing it apart and putting things into his bag.

Techno turned his attention to his own things first, going up to his room and tossing books, notes, gear, and everything that he could get his hands on into a bag. When the room was mostly empty, he tucked his bags away and then went downstairs to the basement to work on the supplies there. Techno pulled potion ingredients and more into bags and then he got ready to head out. The valuables were with them. If they needed more of the mundane everyday things, they could find them somewhere else or steal them from a village. This had to be enough.

Tommy was standing out on the landing, looking at the landscape.

"Don't linger, Tommy," Techno said, "We're goin' to have to move fast."

"Why are we the ones that have to run?"

"Because there's less of us and we can move quickly."

"But why are they going to chase after us? You were right. L'manberg didn't care about me, but why are they so angry about things that weren't even our doing?"

"Because they don't care to figure out just who caused the damage. I'm certain it's someone under Dream's control, but I couldn't tell you which person it was. No one was ready to fess up about anything."

"Where are we going?"

"Far away. Phil are you ready to head out?"

"Yeah, mate. It's like another journey for me, but easier since we're starting out with this much gear." Phil grinned and then pulled on his cloak again. Techno's own tattered cloak lay on the floor of his room. And a newer one was on his shoulders now."

"Then let's go," Techno said, walking out the front door and past Tommy. Phil waited for Tommy to move and then the three of them were marching across the tundra, heading further away from L'manberg. They walked past the area where Tommy had been exiled, but Tommy didn't mention it, didn't say a word, even as his hands trembled when they walked through the valley.

\---

Far away, Dream stood in front of Techno's now-abandoned home. His friends and L'manberg citizens were there too. There were calls for the place to burn, but when someone held up their flint and steel, he held his hand out to stop them. "We're not going to stoop to their level," Dream said, "In fact, we're going to let them go."

"You wanted to get rid of them and now you're trying to let them go?" Tubbo asked, standing at the front of the group of L'manbergians.

"They're not gone for good," Dream said, "Techno will want to make a larger statement now that he's decided that he hates me."

"Are you...going to kill the three of them?"

"Maybe. I haven't decided yet. Why Tubbo? Are you going to make a deal with me to try and save Tommy's life?"

"I-"

"It would be funny to watch. You've picked L'manberg over him twice now? Would even accept you trying to save him?"

Tubbo took a step back, not looking up at Dream's mask and then he turned away and started walking. "Quackity, let me know what Dream wants to do to prepare for Techno's second attack on L'manberg. I'm going to survey the damage already done and see what we need to do for the people tonight."

And just as Tubbo was about to run for the portal, a tall enderman-hybrid fell into step next to him. "It's okay, Tubbo. This...isn't easy on any of us."

"You don't get it, Ranboo. He was my best friend and I...picked everything over him multiple times."

"You're the president, Tubbo. You can't pick him over the country that you're supposed to run. There are more people at stake than just him. You've been doing your best."

Ranboo put his hand on Tubbo's shoulder and then the two walked together towards the portal, back to the country they loved to work on temporary shelters for the displaced and to set up a station for rebuilding efforts the next day.

Dream on the other hand, already had his plans in motion, giving people assignments after they were able to secure a place to sleep again. And then he turned his attention to the snow, looking for a sign of where the trio had gone. He found crisscrossing patterns in the snow going this way and that, Phil covering up their footprints with his wings. But there was no way to tell where they had gone.

But that was fine. Dream could be patient when he wanted to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm feeling a lot of things this week already. There were ways that I wanted this fic to go that I'm not going to because I think we need a little bit of comfort after what's happened so far this week in March.


	13. Chapter 13

The place that the three of them found was a calmer forest with milder temperatures and plenty of hunting that they could do. One of the first things that Techno decided to do wasn't even to focus on getting the house ready for them to live in, but getting enough food that they wouldn't run out for weeks. And while Phil appreciated it, he was tired of sleeping out under the stars. The three of them made quick work of getting the house constructed, something similar to what they had had before with small changes. Tommy was silent during most of it, lost in his own thoughts, only happy to help with getting them out of the open-air as quickly as possible. There was something about being in the open air like this, running from Dream that sent off every piece of his brain. It was like all he could do was focus on the panicking that he was doing and nothing else.

Techno was the one that stepped in this time. When he saw that Tommy was getting lost in his own thoughts, Techno gave him new tasks, tore him away from his own thoughts long enough that he would be able to focus on anything else. But it was barely enough. Tommy was constantly getting lost in thoughts, even though Techno had done all he could by avoiding the area directly around where the Exile happened, this area wasn't too far away. Was the proximity of one of the worst events of his life getting to him?

Techno couldn't be sure and Phil was too busy making sure that the house was ready for people to be living in it to be of much help otherwise. It wasn't really what Techno had expected to be doing, but that's what was going on. That was all they had. The three of them were so far away from the rest of the community that they were really a nation unto themselves. But Techno never said anything about that. He just lived his life as peacefully as he wanted. And the three of them weren't going to find peace until they were certain that no one was coming after them. Even as the rest of the people that they had seen grew closer and closer to their current home, the weather turned against people that drew too close and turned them away from the area where the house was.

It did have the consequence of making it difficult for the trio in the newly made house. The storm raged on outside the windows of the house, wind and rain and hail battering at the sides of the build. "At least we're not going to have to worry about how well it's going to hold up to a storm or anything like that," Phil said as he watched the world outside of the house.

"Yeah, instead we just kind of said "fuck it I guess we can do this since no one else is stopping us" which is how you tend to do a lot of things, Phil." Tommy was sitting on the ground with his arms crossed.

"Are you trying to start a fight, Tommy?" Phil said, looking at Tommy with an eyebrow cocked.

"Can both of you knock it off?" Techno huffed. And then after a moment of silence, his face scrunched up while he was thinking about what he said. "Did we trade places, Phil?"

And after a moment, both Phil and Tommy were laughing. It wasn't the same carefree sound of the past, but it was close enough. Techno's smile faded a little when the windows shook with a sudden wind. He stood up and looked out the window, taking time to actually take in the outside world that was out there. Everything that had been happening, everything that they had been dealing with, all of it had been leading up to this. They were afraid for the future that they were about to walk into, they were at war with the rest of the world.

But Techno took a breath and all he could do was think about how much he wanted to tear people apart. It clouded his mind for a moment and then he slowly slipped away to other thoughts. There were other things to do, other thoughts to focus on.

There was a kid here that was still jumpy, that had seemed anxious every time he got stuck inside for longer than twenty minutes. Techno looked at Tommy and saw that his hands were tearing at the fabric of his shirt. It was old, worn out. It was the only one that he had been wearing the entire time they had been doing all of this building.

"Why don't you go change into something more comfortable and go sleep, Tommy?" Techno asked, "It's not like we'll be doin' anything that interestin' for the rest of the day with the weather like this."

Tommy looked at Techno and then shook his head. "I don't want to go to sleep."

"You look exhausted and you haven't been sleeping much, I know because I hear you in the middle of the night."

Tommy pauses at that. He looked at Techno, eyes narrowed. "What about it, bitch? I can do what I want."

Techno rolled his eyes. "I can't stop you, but you're not going to be helpful if you're just tired all the time."

"What about you, big man? You don't sleep at all. Don't be a fucking pussy about this. We're in a high-stress situation. Of course, I'm not going to be able to sleep well."

"It's been a week, Tommy," Techno said, "Even if Dream knows where we are, he isn't going to come for us like that. He's going to be working on other things to try and prepare for when we show up. We need to be well-rested and ready to get through everything here or else we're going to get behind and then Dream wins. Do you want Dream to win?"

Tommy looked at Techno and for a second, Techno was certain that Tommy was going to yell, but he sat back against the wall, slumped in on himself. "I am tired, but I'm just..."

"Dream's not going to touch you, Tommy," Phil said, "He's not going to come here and take you. if he tries, Techno and I will take care of him."

Tommy looked at Phil and give him a half-smile. "I'm...sorry. If I was just a little better at this if I hadn't-"

"The past is the past, Theseus," Techno said, "And there's no point in dwellin' on it now. You're here. And there's a fight that's comin' up. So let's focus on getting you ready for that. And that starts with you goin' to sleep."

Tommy nodded and then he stood up and climbed up the ladder into the higher portions of the house. There were rooms up there for the three of them, smaller than at the last house, but it was enough. Phil and Techno stayed downstairs, listening to the sound of the wind and the hail and the rain outside. They heard things move around upstairs and then it was silent, quiet. And the peacefulness, tentative though it was, was hard to not enjoy. Techno walked into the kitchen to start a cup of tea. Phil sat with his hat in his hand on the couch.

"They know where we are already," Phil said, voice quiet, to prevent the sound from getting up to the second floor where he was certain that Tommy was already trying to listen to them.

Techno shrugged. "They were going to figure it out pretty easily," Techno said, "It's going to be hard to get here again, even if they try it. And I'm goin' to be doin' some work to make sure that we're adequately protected from the danger that's coming here. But they won't be able to do anything before we bring more explosives to them and make sure that they regret everything that they've tried to do so far. They're all just listenin' to Dream like he's goin' to fix everything for them. But he's never been good at that."

"What about Tommy?"

Techno paused, looking up at the ceiling before closing his eyes and taking a sip of the tea that's in the mug in his hands. "We'll help him deal with it. But just because they're his friends, or were his friends, doesn't mean that he can throw all of this way to try and make sure that he's keepin' everyone safe."

"So you're going to just ignore the-"

"I'm not ignorin' that he's goin' through it, Phil."

"You're not doing anything to help him."

"Then you help him. I can't...I can't fix him when I haven't been able to fix myself either." Techno sighed as he spoke, hands gripping the mug of tea tightly.

Phil scrunched up his hat as he sat there on the couch. "I'm still not over it, mate. I'm not in a position to help him either."

Techno sat on a chair in the dining room. "So we're three people, all with varyin' levels of trauma that aren't really able to sit down and help each other because we're all trying to deal with the first batch of trauma that we've been dealt."

"Sounds about right, mate. Maybe one day when we're done with this, we'll be able to sit down and work through everything together." Phil stops messing with his own hat and stands up. "But for now, I'll just try to sleep too. Make sure you get some sleep, Techno." Phil climbs up the ladder and goes up into the second floor. Techno listens until the door up there closes and then he leans back in his chair. He knows that he won't be getting any sleep anytime soon, but he wished that he could find some peace. But until Dream was six feet under, until the others understood that even Dream didn't scare him, there was no peace for him to find out there. He rubbed his face while he was sitting there. The voices had been nothing but loud for the last week. They wanted Dream dead just as much as he did, but they were louder, more ferocious.

_"Get rid of the green teletubby."_

_"Homeless Dream."_

_"We were homeless for a little bit there."_

_"He hurt Tommy and Phil."_

_"Blood for the blood god. Blood for the blood god. Blood for the blood god."_

_"He's just like us and that makes him a threat."_

Techno sat there, listening to the voices, trying to filter out what he cared about and what he didn't care about. But it eventually was just too much and he was just too tired to continue dealing with it. He climbed up the ladder and walked down the hallway. He opened Tommy's door and found that the room was empty. He walked quietly to Phil's door and listened to it there.

"I don't want to fight Tubbo," Tommy mumbled.

"I know, mate, but sometimes we fight those people that we love. Maybe Tubbo will stay out of the fighting."

"I don't think Dream would let him stay out of it."

Techno moved on. He didn't want to think about it, didn't want to face the senseless violence that Dream had inflicted on the situation, didn't want to think about how he had done the same. Even if his reasons were right, he was just as bad as Dream. Techno sat on his new bed and then he flopped over, closing his eyes. He could be better. He could be better than Dream at the very least. He was already better. He wasn't commanding a country to make them do what he wanted.

But he was about to fight a whole country to stay free. He was about to commit the same kind of violence against them. And in a way, that was worse. It was worse that he was going to start that fight like that.

\---

The morning was quiet. It was the way that he wanted it. It was a peaceful place. And for a moment, Techno forgot that there was a war that was about to waged, forgot that there had been a fight before. His mind only recalled the peaceful mornings of his retirement, which felt like both a lifetime ago and like it was yesterday. And so when he stood up and the house was different, the room smaller, differently decorated, he had to stop and think through everything that had happened in the last couple weeks, trying to remember where he was supposed to be.

And then the events of the last weeks flooded into his head and the voices came with it, chattering about violence and random things until they were a chorus of noise that came together just to shout "E" at the top of their lungs for a moment. Techno grit his teeth and climbed down the ladder, putting himself in the living room. Phil and Tommy were already awake and sitting down there.

"Techno?" Tommy asked from the kitchen.

"What?"

"Are you....what's up, big man? You look like you're going to kill the next non-friendly person you see."

"I might. What's it to you?"

Tommy shifted and then it was like something snapped in his head. "I knew you weren't a morning person, but god you're being a real bitch this morning."

"Tommy." Phil cautioned from further into the kitchen.

"WHAT? HE IS. I asked him a question and he's giving me attitude and looking like he's going to put the ax of peace through my neck and I don't know about you, Philza Minecraft, but I don't think that's the kind of energy that I want to have when I wake up in the morning. Techno is ruining MY fucking day too."

"Not everyone can be as full of energy as you are all the time, Tommy. Let Techno wake up."

Tommy let out a wordless shout and then walked to the door. He put his hand on the handle like he was going to walk outside, but he paused there and looked out the windows. There wasn't anything out there, but Tommy knew like the other two that outside wasn't safe. There wasn't anywhere safe anymore. "I fucking hate it here with the two of you. You're all moppy and serious and shit."

Techno was in the kitchen, staring at food. His mind was full of noise, full of shouting, full of anger. " _They're coming for you. They're here. They're going to kill us. They need to pay for what they've done. We're going to burn L'manberg into nothingness. We're going to kill Dream where he stands and we're going to give his blood to the blood god."_

Techno rubbed his forehead, trying to urge the voices to calm down, to be anything but loud. They had plans that they needed to get through and Techno was so close to being able to go back to all the plans he had before. He had a source for the TNT now. He was going to be able to get his stash of extra wither skulls and they were going to lay waste to the world.

_"He's here. He's here. He's here. He's here. He's here. He's here. He's here. He's here. He's here. He's here. He's here. He's here. He's here. He's here. He's here."_

Techno listened to the voices for once and turned his attention to the outside world. Sometimes they told him that monsters were lurking in the shadows when there was nothing there. Sometimes they told the truth when they sent him warnings. And if they were meaning who he thought they did, then he didn't want to take anything lightly.

Techno pushed Tommy out of the way, grabbed his ax from next to the door, and pushed open the door. And there was Dream, dressed fully in his armor, his weapons in hand, looking like the warrior that he thought he was. He aimed a crossbow at Techno and stood there quiet and still.

"What do you want, Dream? Can't wait a couple days for me to bring a fight to you?" Techno was fully aware of the fact that he was out of his armor and that there wasn't time to run inside and put it on.

"Listen, Techno," Dream started, "I've always admired the way that you do things according to your own code, but right now, I want you to listen to me and do what I tell you to do. And if you do, I'll consider us even and I'll let you and Philza walk away from this interaction without a fight."

Techno heard the person that Dream was leaving out start to say something behind him, but Techno reached back and slammed the door shut behind him. It didn't matter what Tommy was going to say. It didn't matter. Techno was tired.

"Listen Dream, I've told you before that I don't think there's anything left to repay when you were the one that set into motion the idea that got me almost killed in the first place. You've been playin' both sides this whole time, so let's just be honest here. What do you want?"

Dream was quiet, but his finger was on the trigger of the crossbow.

"Alright, alright. I'm a reasonable man, I'll hear out whatever you're thinkin' about doin'."

"Give me Tommy right now and I'll switch sides. I'll help you destroy L'manberg for the last time."

"Temptin' offer, but let's be clear Dream, my fight is with you too. Not just them. You can't talk your way out of this fight. You can't sit here and offer to make sure that Philza is safe in exchange for me givin' you Tommy who you tortured and hurt for the entire time that he was exiled and under your supervision. I'm not givin' Tommy to you. I will meet you on that battlefield and you will fall to me. There is no other way that our story goes."

Dream lowers the crossbow, his body language shifting from one of anger to indifference in a moment. "Whatever you say, Techno. Maybe we'll finally see the day that Technoblade dies. I hope it's one of my weapons that causes it."

"You're not a god, Dream," Techno snorted, "Stop actin' like you're going to smite me as soon as I get close to L'manberg with Phil and Tommy. The three of us could take on armies together."

Dream pushes his mask up his face a little bit, revealing his mouth just a little. There's a smirk there. "Sure you will. Just don't beg me for your life when my blade is at your throat. Or Philza's for that matter." The smirk becomes a too-wide grin.

Techno stands there in silence, watching as Dream lowers his mask and slinks away. He holds onto the ax tightly, like it's going to provide any protection if Dream decides that he doesn't want to play this game anymore.

Techno turns around and walks inside, shoving back past Tommy, who is shouting at him and yelling about all sorts of things. But Techno can't hear him.

All he can hear for the next several hours is the sound of anger rolling through his head in the form of the voices demanding Dream's head, demanding his blood, demanding to see the destruction of a place and people that have done nothing but cause those he cared about harm.

For once, he was ready to listen to the voices. They would get their blood this time if it was the last thing he did.

Tommy watched Techno from afar all day as the masked pig-hybrid went about all sorts of work. There were no words spoken, nothing exchanged. Tommy just watched. And it was weird. The two of them weren't...best friends. They were enemies more often than not. But Techno cared. Techno cared enough about him to keep him safe when anyone else would have let him be caught.

Tommy owed Techno his life. He would make sure that he paid back Techno tenfold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep fussing over this, but here it is! I did try to get a better writing/posting schedule, but my brain just didn't care.

**Author's Note:**

> hey everyone! thanks for reading!


End file.
